My Hero Academia: The Golden Light of Hamon
by SeerKing
Summary: Midoriya Izuku desperately wants a Quirk as a child...what if he received one? Not only that, one that was especially suited to strike down evil. Hamon/Ripple!Izuku. As always, T for Bakugō's swearing.
1. Birth of the Golden Aura!

"Kacchan!" - Speech

'_Shitty Deku!_' - Thoughts

**"I AM HERE!"** \- All Might Speech

"_**Detroit Smash!**_" - Special Technique Usage

**Beta'd by BigCC**

**Chapter 1: Birth of the Golden Aura!**

Midoriya Izuku was one of many children who had grown up in awe of the heroes who protected them from villains. People like the Flame Hero Endeavour, the Fibre Hero Best Jeanist, the Chivalrous Hero Crimson Riot, and so many others. Standing at the top of the pyramid, at the very pinnacle, was the Number One Pro Hero, All Might.

To Izuku, All Might was more than just a person to stand in awe of. He was an idol, both a shining beacon standing above them all and a goal to strive for. Izuku wanted to become a hero just like All Might, a hero who saves everyone with a smile. To do that though, his Quirk needed to awaken.

Quirks were almost universal in the modern day society. Over 80% of the world's population possessed a Quirk of some description, whether it was a weak and or minor one like turning a person's skin green or making their fingers act like lighters, to those powerful ones that could reshape the world around them like controlling the various elements or whatever powerful Quirk All Might possessed. Quirks were mainly divided into three main categories Emitters, Transformation, and Mutation.

Izuku really didn't care _what_ kind of Quirk he activated, only that he got one

His fourth birthday had come and gone and nothing had happened. It had been almost six months since then and Izuku was becoming worried, as was his mother, Inko. To be one of the 20% of the population without a Quirk, a so-called 'Quirkless' individual, was to be a victim of discrimination and disdain, something that the older Midoriya wouldn't wish on anyone, let alone her only child.

'_Please! Give my son a Quirk!_' she prayed every night as the six-month deadline approached. It was still possible for a child to awaken their Quirk up to six months after their fourth birthday, but almost impossible afterwards. The rare instances were for those who had Quirks too powerful for their young bodies to withstand, which had a unique Quirk Factor that could be detected with a blood test.

'_Please, give him a Quirk, not for my sake, but for his! It would break my boy if he can't get a Quirk!_' Midoriya Inko begged whatever power existed that controlled Quirks. '_Please...please!_'

Whether it was from such sincere and desperate prayer from a mother who loved her son with every ounce of her being, or just the vagaries of chance, but the very day before six months had passed after Izuku's birthday, he awoke his own Quirk.

_Playground, Dantouin Preschool, Musutafu City_

Izuku raced across the playground, with only the thought of escape in mind. His best friend, Bakugō 'Kacchan' Katsuki, had always been a very…_volatile_ person. For as long as Izuku had known him, which had been pretty much their entire lives; Kacchan had always been the first to brag, to argue, and to start a fight. And ever since he was the first in their class to awaken his Quirk **[Explosion]** several months ago, those negative traits had only started to get worse

**[Explosion]** was a very powerful Quirk, with a lot of potential in it, which had led a lot of people, both staff and students, to praise Katsuki for it. This had led to the boy getting prideful, to the point that the young child had started to develop a superiority complex.

Izuku's treatment, on the other hand, had only begun to spiral downward with each week after his four birthday passed and he failed to awaken his Quirk. The teachers had started to ignore him and he had become the favourite 'test subject' (read: victim) of Katsuki's increasingly violent personality and actions, the rest of their classmates slowly starting to follow his lead.

For the record, Izuku would like to let it be known that being hit by a nitroglycerin-based explosion, even one that had even less strength than a firecracker in strength, _hurt_.

"DEKU!" Kacchan yelled from behind him. "Get your ass back here!"

Peeking over his shoulder, Izuku paled as he saw Kacchan with his two cronies Tsubasa Hiei, who possessed the **[Devil Wing]** Quirk, and Yubisaki Nori, who possessed the Quirk **[Finger Whips]**. The three of them possessed the strongest Quirks at Dantouin Preschool, with Katsuki as their unquestioned leader.

Squeaking as he skidded to a halt at the boundary wall of the playground, Izuku gulped and turned around to face the three bullies bearing down on him. Even though the last six months had featured Kacchan as a tormentor, Izuku still regarded him as a friend, so it was very hard to see him and apply the word 'bully' to him.

Feeling his heart start to beat faster as the three boys approached him, the green-haired boy forced himself to breath in a regular pattern to slow it down. For whatever reason, it always helped calm him down to do that. Something felt different though...as if his breaths were carrying something more this time, something warm and energizing.

"_Finally_ out of places to run, Deku?" Bakugō sneered. "I need to keep testing my Quirk so it can get as strong as possible, so stay fucking still!"

"Quirkless loser!" Tsubasa sneered. The boy was slightly overweight, but the two wings of his Mutation Quirk let him keep aloft with ease regardless.

Frustration bubbled up within Izuku as he tensed himself, waiting for his old friend to start the inevitable beating. He was resigned to this going on, again, with no interference from the staff. They valued someone with a possible hero-level Quirk far more than someone who was almost certainly Quirkless.

'_Even if it isn't fair, complaining to people who won't even listen won't change a thing. I need to accept that and move on._' Izuku wrenched himself away from his spiralling train of thought with a mental sigh. Even if he couldn't do anything to fight back, he could at least stand firm and take his beating with dignity. Focusing on his breathing, he envisioned all the anger, sadness, frustration, and other negative motions flowing out with his next breath

With a mental 'click', Izuku's mind and body fell into the harmony that was needed for his power to activate.

_With Bakugō_

As he raised one hand to attack his former friend and current punching bag, Bakugō Katsuki froze as Izuku closed his eyes, let out a long, drawn-out breath before his body exploded with a golden-yellow light from the tips of his puffy green hair to the soles of his favourite red sneakers.

"B-Bakugō...is...is that...?!" Fat Wings asked in disbelief.

"...a Quirk?!" Finger Features finished shakily.

'_No fuckin'_ way_...literally_ one fucking day _before the absolute limit that he could gain a Quirk and the little shit actually _awoke_ one!_' the blond boy thought in a mixture of fury and disbelief. All the adults said that Deku was nothing, a Quirkless nobody that wasn't worth the trouble of defending. Someone who Katsuki could use to get stronger without consequence.

'_Shitty Deku...you're supposed to be nothing more than a _pebble_!_' Katsuki's shock quickly dissolved as fury mounted into rage as he watched Deku openly defy the fate he and the others had set for him.

Deku's eyes cracked open after a moment, looking nervously around, before they suddenly shot open as he noticed the shimmering golden aura that was dancing across his body. His eyes started darting across him body, taking in every inch of his body that he could, an impossibly wide and happy smile slowly spreading across his face as if he was just realizing what was happening

Katsuki felt his rage reach its peak when he saw that stupid smile. His fury at its crescendo (and forcefully burying the slight shame and fear he felt) and exploded as he roared out, charging toward the green-haired dweeb. He would show that worthless Deku that, Quirkless or not, he was always going to be a little fucking _pebble_ before him!

Instead, Deku looked up, smile faltering as a panicked look entered his eyes, and threw a sloppy punch at Katsuki, coincidentally intersecting the other boy's right-handed blow. As soon as the other boy's hand came within range, Katsuki let off as large an explosion as he thought he could get away with, the light illuminating Katsuki's face sinisterly.

Just before the explosion reached Deku's arm though, the golden light around the shitty fuck seemed to glow _brighter_ and wrap protectively around his arm, letting it pass _through_ the explosion almost without _any_ damage! More than that, Deku's fist bypassed his wide swing and slammed straight into Katsuki's nose!

(When he looked it up later, the closest that Katsuki could find to that type of move in any martial arts was referred to as a 'cross counter', a particularly devastating move from Boxing.)

Falling back a couple of steps with a yell of pain, the **[Explosion]** Quirk user covered his nose and glared at an apparently frozen and wide-eyed Izuku, who was staring at his undamaged arm in awe.

"Deku...!" Katsuki growled in a rising fury.

In a fortunate turn of events for Izuku, one of the staff had witnessed the confrontation and now that it was between two boys with active Quirks rather than a Quirk-user and a Quirkless boy, he quickly intervene and got the two separated while he had their parents called.

_Later_

_Principal's Office, Dantouin Preschool_

"What did my brat do _now_?" Bakugō Mitsuki asked in a resigned tone of voice. She was a pretty woman and it was clear that her son had taken after her, the two sharing several facial features along with their spiky, blond hair and sharp red eyes. She alternated between glaring at her mulish son and looking quizzically at Izuku, who looked both amazed and guilty.

"And what does it have to do with my Izuku?" Midoriya Inko asked as she cuddled her boy. Tall and slim overall, albeit with a small bit of pudge gained recently from stress-eating in worry for her son, it was clear that, just like the Bakugōs, son had taken after mother in this case with their soft features, bright green eyes and dark green hair.

"Ah..." the Principal of the preschool, an overweight man with a weak Mutation-type Quirk called **[Imp Tail]**, was at a bit of a loss for words. He wasn't exactly prepared to say to the women, 'Oh, a bullying victim we were content to ignore, as the bully was a powerful Quirk holder, suddenly awoke to his Quirk and fought back.'

He didn't want to lose his job!

Unfortunately for him, the Vice-Principal was slightly more moral and unafraid of retribution and explained the entire sorry story to the two mothers as his boss sat frozen with indecision. The look of righteous maternal fury rose in Inko, just as anger and disappointment in her son rose in Mitsuki.

"BRAT!" the blond mother shouted. "What the living hell were you _thinking_!? Inko, I am _so_ sorry; I had no clue this brat was hurting 'Zuku!"

"You aren't to blame, Mitsu." Inko's voice trembled with anger. "This _school_, however, _is_! I am withdrawing my son from here as of now! How _dare_ you treat my boy like this?! You are clearly too incompetent to be trusted to prevent this from happening again!"

"I'm withdrawing Katsuki as well." Mitsuki decided to twist the knife in the paling Principal's side. "Clearly, you people don't know how to prevent an ego trip from going out of control. As for _you_, little brat, **you** are going to have therapy sessions until you learn how to be a decent human being! Having a strong Quirk does NOT give you the right to treat ANYONE like you did to Izuku, even _less_ so considering he's _supposed_ to be your **friend**!"

Katsuki would have shouted back indignantly, but the death glare his mother was sending at him made him shut up. He was slowly beginning to realise that he had really pushed things too far and one of the few people whose reactions he honestly feared was mad at him.

The immediate future was not looking pleasant for the young bomber.

As the two women gathered up their charges and left the office, the Principal slumped in his seat, his soul practically fleeing his body. If the mother of the formerly Quirkless boy decided to press charges against his school, he was doomed! His career would be ruined.

He was so swept up in his misery that he neglected to realise that he was the architect of his own downfall in his wilful neglect of the treatment Izuku had been receiving

_Later_

_With Inko, Living Room, Midoriya Family Apartment_

Midoriya Inko was usually a placid, gentle and kind woman, but even _she_ had buttons that one simply didn't press without unleashing fury. They all, for one reason or another, revolved around her precious son, her baby boy.

She still couldn't _believe_ that Katsuki would treat Izuku like he had! Even although she knew how those without Quirks were seen, she'd have thought that the friendship that the two boys shared would have prevented it. She had been so, _so_ wrong and Izuku has suffered because of that.

More so than her anger towards Katsuki (he was just a boy and didn't know any better), her _sheer fury_ towards the preschool and its staff was at heights that Inko never thought she could reach. Wilful neglect of Izuku and encouraging Katsuki toward the path of bullying by refusing to do anything to stop or correct his behaviour...these were bad enough, but what that neglect implied about how the staff treated other kids who were Quirkless or even had weak Quirks was a red light to Inko. She would report them as soon as she assured of her own child's safety, and she had a feeling that Mitsuki would help her with it.

Smiling at the thought of her old friend, Inko sighed. She and Mitsuki had been friends since middle school and had been each other's Maid of Honour at their respective weddings. Introducing their children had seemed like a good idea at the time, but it seemed that until Katsuki got his head deflated from all of the shallow praise that his Quirk had gotten him, he couldn't be trusted to be near Izuku.

Mitsuki had told her in a phone call earlier that she had, against Katsuki's protests, signed him up for therapy specifically aimed toward preventing and correcting bullying behaviour in young children. She had also decided to send him to a preschool on the far side of Musutafu called Tarisu.

Having eliminated Dantouin and Tarisu from her options, as well as others for their expense and distance, Inko was currently considering her options for where to send Izuku once she had finished filing the withdrawal paperwork. One was another local preschool called Korusanto, another was called Tatouine, while the last was called Kore Ria.

The second one was out, as it was run by the same type of staff as Dantouin, as evidenced by the similar names. Korusanto was slightly out of her price range at her current income level, so the only realistic choice was Kore Ria Preschool. She had also done research into the elementary schools and had chosen one separate to the one Mitsuki would send Katsuki. A few years apart would, hopefully, be enough time for Katsuki to stop being an arrogant little...!

Huffing, Inko cut her thought off there. Katsuki was just a boy and now his mother was aware of the problem, she'd straighten him out, she knew. Mitsuki was _not_ someone to take the kind of attitude Katsuki was showing.

"M-mummy...?" Izuku's timid voice came from the door to the hall. In an instant, Inko was shaken from her thoughts and focused on her son.

"Come here, Izuku." she said kindly.

In a flash, her boy was cuddling into her on her seat. Inko may have issues with his father, Hisashi, having taken a posting in America and basically sending money home and nothing more, but she was _always_ grateful that he had, if nothing else, given her a son as bright and kind as Izuku.

"Izuku...why didn't you tell me things were so bad?" she asked softly as she hugged him protectively.

"I...I didn't want to worry you." Izuku mumbled. "And I didn't want Kacchan to get into trouble."

"Oh, my boy..." Inko said tearfully. What a failure of a mother she was, to have her four-year-old son trying to protect her. "Listen here now. What Katsuki was doing to you was _wrong_, plain and simple. He has to learn that you _can't_ treat people like that without repercussions. If he doesn't, one day he 'll make someone mad who he can't just shrug off. He may even get hurt. It's not just for your sake, but his as well, that Mitsuki is being so harsh on him. Do you understand?"

"B-but until today...I was just what Kacchan said...a useless Deku..." the boy said tearfully.

"You are my brave, kind and heroic boy, Izuku." Inko told him fiercely. "You are not now, have never been, nor will you EVER be, useless! Get that thought out of your head right this instant. You have a Quirk now, and no one, not Katsuki, not the staff at preschool nor anyone else can ever take that away from you."

Still looking a bit apprehensive, but buoyed somewhat by her words, Izuku nodded shyly. "W-wanna see my Quirk?"

Inko nodded eagerly. She was curious as to what kind of Quirk had allowed her baby to match a powerful Quirk like **[Explosion]**.

Moving away and standing in front of his mother, Izuku started to breathe rhythmically, trying to bring back the same feeling and breathing that seemed to have activated his Quirk earlier. Slowly, he was covered in the same shining golden aura as before.

"Izuku...!" Inko was in awe at her son's Quirk. While it wasn't her gravity-based **[Attraction of Small Objects]** or her husband's **[Flame Breath]**, she was still proud that he had a Quirk that he could use to fulfil his dreams of becoming a Hero. Not only that, but the shimmering golden aura was simply gorgeous to look at. "What can you do so far?"

"I...the golden stuff protected me from Kacchan's explosion...mostly." Izuku said with a gulp. "I think I also hit harder than normal, cause it sounded like I really hurt Kacchan when I punched him. And I had a small burn on my arm after, but it's all healed now, look!"

Inko automatically took her son's right arm in hand to examine it, but then the golden light shimmering and flowing over Izuku's body seemed to rush into her in response, making her feel like she'd just inhaled a hurricane-force wind! She let go automatically, with the feeling of wind rushing through her fading after a moment, but strangely, she felt better than she had in a few months. All of the aches and pains that she'd been ignoring from her part time job were _gone_ and she felt completely refreshed, as if she'd had a good night's sleep!

"Mummy! Are you OK?!" Izuku asked anxiously, his golden aura fading away with his sudden panic.

"I feel great!" Inko declared with a little laugh. "Izuku, your Quirk just took away my aches and pains as if I'd just gotten a nice massage! I think your Quirk just _healed_ me somehow!"

The awed look in his eyes made Inko pick him up and cuddle him again. She decided that she needed to make an appointment with a Quirk Counsellor for Izuku soon. A Quirk that protects, enhances and heals the user isn't very common and wouldn't be without its drawbacks, so finding out what they were as soon as possible would be a very good idea.

"We're having katsudon for dinner to celebrate, Izuku." she informed her delighted son.

"Awesome!" Izuku cheered, eyes shining again.

_Two Days Later_

_Quirk Counsellor's Office_

"Hmm...your son's Quirk is _most_ unusual, Midoriya-san." the doctor who had just tested Izuku's Quirk said to a listening Inko.

"Unusual? How so?" the greenette woman asked.

"Well to start, my initial hypothesis was that it could possibly be an internal Mutation type Quirk that altered his lungs to transform the oxygen he inhaled into an energy field of some kind. However, I've had several X-rays and scans taken using both machinery and Quirks to get a look at his lungs and the rest of his respiratory system, and there are no noticeable divergences from the Quirkless norm outside the fact that his lungs seems a tad larger and his diaphragm better developed than a child his age should have." the man explained. "With that theory disproven, I've looked into other options and I've made quite a bit of progress. Rather than a Mutation or even a Transformation Quirk related to oxygen, your son's Quirk seems to be a pure Emitter type that uses rhythmic breathing as a medium to draw out or generate that golden energy from his body. The energy field produced, as you suggested when you brought him in, seems to act as a protective barrier and enhances both his physical abilities and healing rate. In addition, the healing component at least seems to be able to be used on others. He healed a nurse of a bad headache when she accidentally brushed against him during one of our tests."

"That's amazing..." Inko murmured, pride for her son in her voice.

"Yes, it's an impressive Quirk to say the least. We've analysed the energy signature and the results we're getting back are quite unique. Given time, we'll run comparison with other energy signatures we have on record to see if we can find any more similar cases to compare with. There's also one more unusual effect I think you should be aware of." Pulling a tablet off his desk, the doctor opened a video and showed it to Inko. On it, Izuku was standing in the centre of a pool of ankle-deep water in his swim trunks, his golden aura flowing around him. What was unusual was that the water was rippling out from around him like he was the epicentre of an earthquake even as he stood still.

As the video ended and the doctor took back the tablet, he continued. "Judging from that particular test, there's some sort of invisible output to the aura he generates. So far none of our scanners have picked up any form of detectable output and it doesn't seem to have any effect on living or non-living matter outside of liquids. I'm starting to suspect that these ripples are nothing more than a visible sign of the aura's presence, similar to a human heartbeat, and that liquids are simply a superior conductor for the aura's energy.

Looking up at her, the doctor smiled slightly. "When we informed young Izuku of this, he decided on his Quirk's name, there and then. Since the name wasn't taken, we felt there was little issue with applying it to his Quirk Registry. He is now the user of the **[Hamon]** Quirk."

"Hamon...as in ripple? That sounds like a name Izuku would come up with." Inko smiled fondly. Her baby boy was a bit too clever for his own good sometimes.

"Yes, he picked a very good name. It states _an effect_ of the Quirk without disclosing what it actually _does_." the doctor nodded. "Now, in regards to making the best use of his Quirk, I would recommend that he learn martial arts of some kind. The discipline will likely help him control his Quirk and its physical effects. Additionally, he is currently required to remain stationary in order to perform the breathing exercises needed to create the golden energy that he utilises. The longer he maintains that exercise, the more energy his body produces and stores and the longer he can maintain his aura. Some martial arts, such as ancient versions of karate and the combat version Tai Chi, possess some manner of breathing techniques that he may be able to adapt for his use. The added close combat capabilities will also be useful should he walk down the path of a hero."

"Yes...he will." Inko said tearfully. "It's all he's ever wanted to be. Oh dear, pardon me for crying..."

"It's fine, Midoriya-san." the doctor reassured her. "Finding out that your child's quirk is powerful and they'll use it to fulfil their dreams is a tear inducing feeling. Here, have a tissue..."

When the nurse escorted Izuku back into the room after getting cleaned up from the tests, he immediately went to his mother and started talking sixteen to the dozen about all the things he was going to try with his Quirk. Inko listened indulgently and offered up a final silent prayer of thanks to whatever or whoever had granted her wish.

Her boy had a Quirk and was going to become a hero. And she would support him the entire way.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Next Chapter: Golden Radiance of Hamon**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Quirk Name:** Hamon (Ripple)

**Quirk Type:** Emitter/Accumulation

**Quirk Effect:** Allows the user to generate a golden energy that can be used to enhance their physical abilities, as well as objects. The user can also increase the healing rate of another person as well, although this requires some pain on the part of the recipient. Much of the abilities of Hamon are dependent on the creativity and imagination of the user. It has been noted that those who act in an 'evil' manner, according to the morality of the user and the target, suffer more damage from attacks imbued with Hamon energy. Erasure-type Quirks can shut off the generation of Hamon Energy, but not the user's ability to control it.

**Quirk Weaknesses:** Hamon energy is gathered as the user breathes, so a viable countermeasure is to inhibit or prevent the user from breathing. The use of Hamon energy is also one that requires a high amount of precision and concentration. The user can and will fail if they lose focus.


	2. Golden Radiance of Hamon

**Author's Note: *Gapes at the number of reviews for this story* OK...wow...seriously. What the heck? Congratulations guys, you have officially broken the record for the largest number of reviews for a first chapter in one of my stories.**

**You like it that much? OK. I'll post this chapter now then.**

**Regarding a couple of people saying that having Hamon as a Quirk rather than something that anyone can use and learn...not everyone can learn Hamon, otherwise Speedwagon would have learned it, rather being a one-man cheering squad for Jonathan and Joseph.**

**As to people asking about Jojo posing and vampires...well, let's just see where this takes us, hmm? I ****will**** say that **_**at least one vampire will show up**_**, but he will NOT be Dio Brando or any of the vampires from the Jojoverse. **

**Enjoy!**

"Kacchan!" - Speech

'_Shitty Deku!_' - Thoughts

**"I AM HERE!"** \- All Might Speech

"_**Detroit Smash!**_" - Special Technique Usage

**Beta'd by BigCC**

**Chapter 2: Golden Radiance of Hamon**

_The Next Week_

_Therapist's Office, Musutafu_

"Well, Bakugō-san, I've finished your son's initial prognosis and I've got some good news and bad news." the therapist stated calmly. He was a bald man, whose own Quirk had guided him to his current career. **[Empathic Perception]** allowed him to perceive the emotional state of anyone within a certain range who he could see clearly, viewing them in a similar way that others perceive colour.

"Just give it to me straight, sensei." Bakugō Mitsuki said, bracing herself. Sitting in the seat beside her, Katsuki was scowling and pouting at having to go through this bullshit.

"I am afraid that your son has a classic, albeit severe, case of an Inferiority/Superiority Complex." the therapist said bluntly. "Children, particularly those as young as yours are easily influenced by their surroundings. The constant praise and accolades he received from both his teachers and peers for his 'powerful Quirk' have led to him developing a rather swollen opinion of himself. The fact that the teachers and authority figures in his life outside yourself have never sought to interfere with his actions or provide any negative reinforcement for his more volatile behaviour only reinforced this opinion and helped set in a belief that it was his right."

Mitsuki glared down at her son for a moment before taking a deep breath and returning her attention back to the doctor.

"Go on." she said tightly.

The psychologist merely nodded, looking down at the notes. "The other half of the issue, the inferiority complex, is a bit trickier and harder to root out and is deeply rooted in his relationship with one of his classmates you mentioned earlier, a Midoriya Izuku-kun. The best I could find was something that occurred shortly after his Quirk emerged and his superiority complex started to develop. A common syndrome in superiority complexes is a refusal to accept aid and to even see any attempts to offer it as an insult. A few months ago Katsuki-kun suffered a fall while 'adventuring' through the park. While the other children simply stood back and watched, Midoriya-kun quickly moved to help him up. For Katsuki-kun's burgeoning superiority complex, instead of an offer to help, this was perceived as an insult and even as Midoriya mocking him."

"So all this started over something so...?! Brat!" Mitsuki growled at her son. "You are one sorry little shit, you know that?!"

"Screw you, hag!" Katsuki shot back immediately.

"Settle down please, _both_ of you." the therapist stated sternly, causing both blondes to quiet down. "As I was saying, Katsuki-kun's emotions regarding Midoriya-kun's are quite tangled, mixing anger, respect, admiration, rage, and a host of other emotions that I can only began to make a guess at understanding. The end result, however is that Midoriya-kun became something of an avatar for Katsuki-kun's doubts and insecurities about himself, resulting in his harsh treatment regarding the boy in an attempt to expunge them."

The doctor then offered a kind smile to Mitsuki. "Luckily, Katsuki-kun is still young enough that his superiority complex should still be relatively easy to treat, and once we get to the root of the matter, his inferiority complex should likewise be easily treated. However, I can only do so much in my office, and in cases like these it is far too easy for the patient to backslide without regular reinforcement. I would advise you to speak to Katsuki's new teachers and make them aware that they need to be particularly diligent in keeping an eye on Katsuki-kun's behaviour and the need to be strict with their punishments if he acts out. I would also advise for you to randomly check to make certain they are not enabling him rather than following your wishes."

"Oh, you can be _certain_ of that." Mitsuki said coldly. "I will be making sure that this brat toes the line or else I'll be sending him to the strictest school I can find to instil some discipline into him."

Katsuki had a horrible sense of foreboding about that.

As the mother and son duo prepared to leave, the therapist spoke to Katsuki directly, his voice kind but very firm.

"Katsuki, you are angry at me and everyone. You don't see why we're getting on your back about this, correct?"

"So?" the **[Explosion]** user growled out through grit teeth.

"You must understand this, if nothing else: acting as you have will only harm your dream of becoming a hero." the man sat back in his chair and regarded the truculent boy. "Slightly stricter regulations are being hashed together in the Diet regarding who is permitted to gain a Hero License or even enter a Hero Course at some of the more prestigious schools. Hero Course applicants will have their histories and backgrounds more thoroughly examined and those with a history of negative behaviour and bullying, as you have shown, will have a much harder time gaining acceptance."

That hit Katsuki like a sledgehammer; he couldn't even start to believe or understand how his actions would hurt his chances of accomplishing his dreams. His eyes went wide and he started to clench his hands, a part of him wanting nothing more than to let his Quirk go off to vent his frustrations, but he forced the urge down. The old hag had been cracking down on him even more than usual for using his Quirk recklessly ever since he'd been transferred out of Dantouin.

"You see Katsuki, your Quirk is indeed strong, and I can see how it could be a great tool to combat villains." the man continued gravely. "But at the moment, villains are not the enemy you need to face, not the hurdle you need to overcome. For now, you must learn to conquer yourself instead."

"...huh?" the dandelion-haired boy looked at the older man in confusion.

"Your aggression and attitude are now the biggest roadblocks on your quest to be a hero." the man tried to explain in terms the boy could understood. "Every single report about you from Dantouin Preschool is about your Quirk and your abilities and future. Not a single word is mentioned about you as a _person_. The reason behind that is sadly simple; your behaviour does not reflect that of a hero. So long as this remains the case, even if you become a hero, you will never reach the Top Ten, never mind the Number One position."

Katsuki was struck dumb by that statement. He mechanically followed his mother out of the room, his mind churning in thought about everything he had been told, with all of it clashing with his own self-image and pride.

_Monday the Next Week_

_Principal's Office, Kore Ria Kindergarten_

"I see." the principal of the Kore Ria Kindergarten, Sakuran Akari, nodded seriously. She was an old woman, approaching retirement age, but she was still fit as a fiddle. More importantly to the worried mother sitting opposite of her, she was a firm proponent of equal rights who didn't give a damn about what Quirks people had, just that they sat down and didn't kick up a fuss. "I've heard a few bad rumours about Dantouin Preschool and their principal in particular, but for them to go _this_ far…it beggars belief."

"I wasn't exactly happy to hear of it myself." Inko said as she cuddled her son to her side. "The sheer nerve of them, treating my baby boy like that...!"

"Trust me Midoriya-san, I'm a mother and a grandmother myself, were I in your shoes my reactions would mirror your own." the principal nodded sympathetically. It was a sad state in her opinion when educators, _particularly_ those of young children, were more interested in pandering to a select few in hopes of small sliver of recognition later on rather than properly guiding their young charges. "I can assure you that in _my_ Kindergarten it doesn't matter if you're the next Endeavour or All Might or even Quirkless, all kids are treated under the same ethos: firm but fair. I have a zero tolerance policy for Quirkism in particular and bullying in general."

Quirkism, or the Quirk Supremacist belief, was something which had reared its head several times over the past two and a half centuries since the Quirk Factor had begun to manifest itself. Those who believed in it advocated the right for any Quirk user to freely use their Quirk as they please. Those who followed these tenets were heavily discriminatory against those with 'weak' Quirks (though the definition of weak varied among branches) and the Quirkless in particular, citing them as crippled at best and a genetic throwback and aberration at worse.

Then there were the host of other Quirk-based bigotries that were bandied about alongside the Quirkist slogan: Anti-Mutation bigotry, Pro-Emitter favouritism, Villainous/Heroic Quirk discrimination.

Despite how far humanity had come in other areas since the rise of the Quirk Era, bigotry was still alive and well, even if it wore a new face. It was a thought that often saddened the old woman when she thought about it.

"That is very good to hear, Sakuran-san." Inko said firmly. "I _sincerely_ hope that my boy doesn't come home with bruises and the like, at least not without some form of explanation from you."

"Rest assured, _any_ form of harm to a student is looked into extensively. While we understand that children can be a bit rough at times, that is no excuse to be lack in our duties." Sakuran assured her. "One of the teachers has a Quirk called **[Replay Vision]**, which allows her to look into the past of anyone she's touching. It only goes back about ten minutes, but that's more than enough for most instances of suspected bullying or harassment."

Letting out a breath of relief, Inko nodded. "Thank you. I'll leave my boy with his teacher...who is?"

"That would be Mitsuhide Rena-sensei." the Principal supplied with a small smile. "She's very good with children who have had a hard time with bullies. You'd be surprised how many parents come here after finding out their children have been bullied."

_Minutes Later_

_Classroom, Kore Ria Kindergarten_

"Alright everyone, I'm here to introduce a new friend to you all today." the teacher said with a smile. Mitsuhide Rena was a pretty young woman in her twenties, with red eyes and blue hair. Her Quirk was a Mutation-type called **[Four Arms]** and literally gave her an extra set of arms coming out of her shoulders. She had one set folded away behind her back and her right main arm on Izuku's shoulder. "This is Midoriya Izuku-kun. He's transferred in today due to problems at his previous school. Try to get along with him, OK? Introduce yourself, Izuku-kun."

"I-I'm...Midoriya Izuku." the little green-haired boy bowed quickly. "N-Nice to meet you all?"

A chorus of greetings came back at him, the faces of his new classmates curious about him.

"Now, I'm going to go over the rules of the class for everyone, both to introduce Izuku-kun to them, and to remind all of you of them as well." Rena said, addressing the class as a whole. "First, there is to be no Quirk usage in the classroom _at all_. That is to be restricted to the playground. Second, in the case that you _do_ use your Quirk in the playground, it is to be a demonstration only; you are not to direct your Quirk towards another student, nor are you to use them on the school buildings or equipment. For those of you with mutation Quirks such as mine, while using any extra limbs or whatnot is allowed, anything else falls under the same rules and you have to be to use them carefully so as not to hurt anyone.

"As for punishments..._accidentally_ using your Quirk to harm another student or a teacher will result in your parents being called and you will be put in the time-out corner for the day. _Deliberately_ using your Quirk to harm someone else, staff or student, will result in a week's suspension and a meeting between your parents and school staff to determine your future at this school going forward. We give second chances, but _never_ third ones."

Izuku was looking up at the teacher with more than a little awe. '_The old sensei never said anything about that kind of stuff before._'

"And of course, it goes without saying that words are a big part of bullying as well." the teacher eyed her students carefully. "Any insults toward one of your classmates whether it's because of their Quirk, lack of one, appearance, or anything else will see you spending the rest of the day in the timeout corner. Does everyone understand me?"

"Yes, sensei!" the class sang at her.

"Good. Now let's get started, shall we?" Rena clapped her primary hands together. "Izuku-kun, go and sit next to Jirō-chan there."

The kid in question was a purple-haired girl wearing a striped dress. She also had a pair of dangling things coming from her ears...as in they were _literally_ a part of her earlobes. She had a bored expression on her face, but still nodded to him with a small smile that disappeared quickly as she turned her attention back to the lesson.

Izuku paid attention too, but he kept fidgeting and looking around nervously. He wasn't used to everyone...well, not trying to sneer, jeer or otherwise look at him like he was something nasty they had just trodden on. It was, to not put too fine a point on it, freaking him out a bit.

It got to the point that at lunch, Rena held him back to talk to him. Once she got a good understanding of why he had been twitching and looking nervous as if he'd had ants in his pants, she'd offered the boy a gentle smile (while silently vowing to do everything in her power to have the Quirkist assholes responsible for his previous treatment blacklisted) and promised that he had nothing to be afraid of.

She honestly hoped the boy got acclimated to his new environment quickly. No four-year-old should be such a nervous, twitchy little thing.

_In the Playground_

Izuku walked along the playground before settling himself in small hidden corner away from the other students. He'd become good at finding out of the way places to avoid the other kids over the past six months. It had worked out well…most of the time…unless Kacchan was intent on 'practising his Quirk.' Kacchan was _really_ smart and hard to hide from, so nowhere was safe from him when he was in a mood.

He knew that the sensei said that he didn't have to hide anymore; the sensei had been really nice and promised no one would pick on him again. But some habits were hard to break, and honestly he was still feeling so itchy and twitchy from class that he really didn't want to deal with so many other people right now.

"Yo." a slightly flat voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts, making Izuku yelp in shock and look up. It was that girl he'd sat next to in class...Jirō-san, wasn't it?

"Whatcha doing way over here?" she asked curiously.

"O-Oh...j-just...what I do at lunch." Izuku stuttered out. "I-I...was k-kinda bullied at my...old school, s-so...going somewhere to hide a-at lunch is...kinda a habit."

"Oh...that sucks." the purplette frowned. "I got picked on too, because of my Quirk making me look weird. That was before my parents transferred me here."

"Your Quirk? The dangly things on your ears?" the boy asked curiously, his stutter falling away as he focused on his favourite subject.

"Uh-huh. My Quirk's called **[Earphone Jack]**." Jirō offered, both cord-like extensions lifting slightly without her touching them. "It's a pretty cool Mutation Quirk that lets me use these jacks to listen in on things. I think the Quirk doc said they could also act as amplifiers to send my heartbeat into things."

"That's awesome! Why would anyone bully you for that?" Izuku asked in disbelief. "Your Quirk's so cool!"

"I didn't tell anyone what it did, and they all assumed it was a weak one." the girl looked unimpressed by her former classmates' idiocy. "I coulda just ignored them, but my Mum found out and transferred me out to here about four months ago."

"My mum says kids are cruel." Izuku frowned.

"That's what my Dad said too." Jirō nodded. "What about you? What's your Quirk?"

"Mine's an Emitter type called **[Hamon]**!" the boy said happily. He really loved his Quirk. "Watch."

Stilling in his body in a way that was becoming easier and easier, Izuku began to slow his breathing into the now-familiar rhythmic pattern, Izuku was once again covered in the golden energy of his Quirk, with Jirō looking on in slight awe.

"That looks so wicked!" she laughed out. "What does it do?"

"It acts like a shield, protecting my body! It also makes me stronger, faster and heals me if I'm hurt!" Izuku answered happily, stopping his breathing and allowing the small amount of energy he'd gathered to dissipate, causing the aura to quickly fade. "It can even heal other people too, but I dunno how that works yet."

"Dude, that's an _awesome_ Quirk!" Jirō's eyes were wide at that. Those were just the basic uses of his Quirk; she knew enough about Quirks to know if one had diverse basic abilities, there were often uses, abilities and subtle nuances of the Quirk that would only be discovered through time and experimentation. Her own was a good example, as was Izuku's.

The green-haired boy chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head shyly. "Y-yeah...it is pretty cool. The Quirk Counsellor told my Mum that I should learn martial arts, because my Quirk only activates and starts generating energy if I breathe in a special way. She's looking into local dojo's for me."

Jirō blinked. "So you wanna be a hero?"

"Just like All Might!" Izuku confirmed eagerly. His eyes were practically glowing with determination and excited that was more almost as bright as the light of his Quirk. "What about you?"

"I wanna be a hero, yeah." the purplette said with a nod before the chime signalling the end of lunch rang. "We'd better get back; Rena-sensei gets ticked off if the class isn't back by the second chime."

Nodding, Izuku followed the girl back to the classroom, feeling warm inside. He had, for the first time in over six months, maybe-possibly made a friend. On top of not being bullied and/or ignored by the majority of the class, that made today the best day of kindergarten/preschool he'd ever had.

He could get used to this.

_After School_

_Kitchen, Midoriya Home_

Inko smiled as Izuku chatted with her about the new friend he had made today, a girl called Jirō Kyōka. It warmed her heart to see him already making friends on the first day of his new school. It added a lot of justification to her decision to send him to Kore Ria Kindergarten rather than any of the other preschools and kindergartens in the area, even if it was a tad more expensive than Dantouin had been.

The older Midoriya repressed a frown as she recalled the phone call with Hisashi last week about the need for him to send more money over from his pay check. She knew how much money he made, and she _also_ knew how much he sent to her per month, and there was a very noticeable gap between the two figures, especially considering his company paid for room and board while he was working overseas in America. She had, after an hour long phone call, managed to persuade him to up the amount by a sizeable amount, but it had left a sour taste in her mouth afterwards.

Hiashi hadn't had any kind of say in the matter about the money; it was _legally required_ that a child get the best support and resources to learn how to use their Quirk safely, and it wasn't as if Izuku had a Quirk that fired nuclear fallout energy every time he sneezed; it was, in fact, a fairly simple Quirk to train and use. Unless Izuku was going to hit someone, it seemed that the energy it generated was content to simply protect his body, enhance his muscles, and heal him, so the amount of extra money needed for the new school and for membership at a dojo was more than reasonable.

Hiashi was just being an ass for the sake of being an ass. She sometimes wondered why she'd married the man in the first place, but her precious baby always kept her from regretting it

"Izuku, I've been looking around for a good place to have you learn martial arts, as the Quirk Counsellor advised me to." she said to her baby boy after dinner. "And I think I've found one that is suitable for you."

"Really?!" Izuku squeaked adorably, eyes shining.

"Yes, we'll go and see if they'll be willing to take you on this weekend." the older Midoriya said as she ruffled her son's hair fondly. "By all accounts, this should be a good place to train in using your Quirk, but I want you to promise me that you'll be careful and tell me if anything happens, OK?"

"I promise, Mummy!" Izuku promised immediately, making Inko squee inside at how earnest and adorable her son was. By the time he was in highschool, she was certain that he'd be fending the girls off with a stick. Grandchildren were something that Inko was _so_ looking forward to.

"Off you go and wash your hands and face and I'll set the computer up so you can watch your favourite video." she told Izuku fondly. her son squeaked an affirmative and tore out of the room to go as she asked, leaving her to shake her head in amusement. She swore that Izuku had added over a million views to that first video of All Might's heroics just by himself.

_Saturday_

_Office, Enryū Dojo_

"Huh...so this is the kid?" a large man peered down at Izuku. He was heavily muscled, mostly due to his Quirk **[Bulk Up]**. It was a passive one that greatly increased the speed that his muscles healed from damage and fatigue while also accelerating muscle growth without impairing his muscle's flexibility. He was Bushi Masuo, the main owner of this dojo. With his buzz-cut and squashed nose, the man made for quite the intimidating sight!

"Y-Yes." Inko said, somewhat intimidated by the man, who was about half again her height, even sitting down as he was, and at least thrice her mass in pure muscle.

"H-Hi...?" Izuku squeaked as he looked up (and up) at the giant of a man.

"So I got the docs from the Counsellor about your boy here." he said without further ado. "Afraid I can't do much for the kid myself, since my speciality is in Karate, but it looks like he'd be a good fit for my wife. She specializes in Tai Chi and is an expert in both the combat and meditative aspects. Given his Quirk's reliance on breathing and the effects it can cause, she basically told me to take a hike and let her teach him."

"That's very nice of her..." Inko said with a nod.

"Now, just so you know, basic training is mostly focused around meditation, physical exercise, stretches, and some basic kata. Not as exciting as actually learning to kick butt, but you gotta learn to walk before you can start to run." Masuo offered Izuku with a kind smile. "That includes Quirk usage; you'll need to learn the basics without using your Quirk before you can start trying to use them in combination. Follow me so far kid?"

"Um...my Quirk kinda-sorta activates all on its own whenever I breath rhythmically." Izuku offered with a slight frown. "I-Is that a problem?"

Raising an eyebrow, the dojo master shook his head slightly. "Nah, Quirks activating involuntarily or in response to some specific action are actually pretty common, particularly when you're still young and learning control. Still, it's a bit of a surprise that something as simple as _breathing_ in a certain way would activate it. Hmm, could be a mental trigger or something that registers a change in breathing…" the man trailed off in thought for a moment before shaking his head as he heard footsteps approaching his office. "Anyway, my wife will be able to get a better read on it than me and that's probably her now."

The door opened and a petite woman walked in. she was only a couple of inches taller than Inko, but was svelte and lithe, with a long ponytail of lustrous black hair running down her back and bobbing just above her ankles. She was dressed in a Chinese style _tangzhuang_ jacket, kung fu pants and shoes. She had an open, friendly face and a button nose. The only intimidating thing about her was the lack of sclera in her eyes, leaving them covered in her emerald green irises.

"Kanzashi! Here's the boy you were eager to see." Bushi Masuo greeted his wife and business partner with a broad grin, gesturing at Izuku.

"So I can see, dear." Bushi Kanzashi smiled in amusement at her husband before turning to look at Izuku. "So you're Izuku-kun, eh? I hear tell that you have a pretty cool Quirk."

Izuku blushed and fidgeted in place, still unused to the fact that he had a Quirk and that it was indeed pretty cool. Kanzashi suppressed a giggle at how cute the boy was.

"Now don't be modest." she chided him instead. "While getting a big head is a bad thing for anybody, one should always acknowledge their own strengths as well; otherwise you'll never get stronger."

A Quirk user, or any warrior in Bushi Kanzashi's mind, had to constantly walk a fine line between ego and modesty. Too much ego and not enough modesty led to false pride, hubris and arrogance, while too much modesty and not enough ego led to a lack of confidence and self-doubts that would only hinder their growth. A true warrior had to balance both, confident enough to know their own strength, but humble enough to admit their weaknesses and still be willing to grow. It was a delicate balance, but one an aspiring hero (which the counsellor had mentioned Izuku aspired to be) would need to find if they wanted to be great.

"Y-yeah...my Quirk's...pretty cool?" Izuku offered questioningly. "Wanna see it?"

"If it isn't going to destroy the office, sure." the female martial artist replied with a small smile and a nod.

So Izuku let himself fall into the breathing pattern he'd been rapidly growing accustomed to, calmly breathing in and out in a controlled rhythm and causing his golden aura to once again flare to life. He was well-aware of the two martial artists watching with rapt attention, but was able to force down his nervousness as he focused on his breathing.

"Hmm, I can see why your Quirk Counsellor thought that Tai Chi would be advantageous to your Quirk." Kanzashi said after a moment. "Breathing control is an important aspect in all forms of martial arts, both armed and unarmed, and it only gets more important as one advances, but _neigong_ and _qigong_ breathing exercises are a fundamental aspect of Tai Chi, regardless of whether you use the exercise version or the combat version. Once you've master those, I can see that your Quirk will definitely be viable in combat. I will take you on as my student, Midoriya Izuku. Masuo dear, please fill out the paperwork."

"Yes, honey." the big man beamed at his petite wife. "Should I give them the discount?"

"Definitely. I'm teaching because I want to, not to make money." the black-haired woman replied before turning to Inko and explaining, "Personal students are something I take seriously, but I rarely find anyone worth teaching. For those I _do_ find worth it, I half their lesson fees as thanks."

"Oh...that's very good of you. Are you sure...?" Inko asked uncertainly.

"No worries, this place has enough students paying full fees to keep us in the black easily." Kanzashi waved a hand negligently. "Now, we'd better find Izuku-kun here a _gi_ to wear...oh, you will have to pay for his _gi_, I am afraid."

"That's fine, I budgeted for that." the older Midoriya said with a nod before looking down at her son, who was still maintaining his Quirk. "Izuku, you can stop now. Go with Bushi-sensei and she'll find a _gi_ for you while I handle the boring paperwork."

"OK, Mummy." Izuku nodded obediently and the golden glow faded as he let go of his rhythmic breathing. He followed Kanzashi out of the door.

"He's a good kid." Masuo said approvingly.

"He's my baby boy." Inko said with pride. "He has a bad habit of keeping anything he thinks might worry me to himself though, so you may want to watch out for that."

"Like I said, he's a good kid. He obviously loves you to bits." Masuo grinned at her as he pulled out the registration form for his dojo. "The wife and I haven't decided to have kids yet, but if and when we do, I hope our kid likes us as much as Izuku-kun there likes you."

Quite flustered by the praise (like mother like son), Inko grabbed a pen and started filling out the forms.

_With Izuku_

"So, how does that fit?" Kanzashi-sensei (as she insisted on him calling her, considering both she and her husband taught classes it prevented confusion) asked.

Experimentally moving, Izuku nodded. "It's comfy and loose, but it doesn't feel like it'll slip or get in the way."

"Good. Nice that we found one that fits on the second try." the woman nodded with a smile. "Now, Izuku-kun, I read in the Quirk Counsellor's notes that your Quirk, **[Hamon]**, acts as a shield against blows, heals you if you're hurt and enhances your physical condition...that is, makes you hit harder, using that golden energy. Is that about right?"

"Hai, sensei." Izuku bobbed his head obediently.

"I think getting a baseline of what you can do with it." Kanzashi mused. "Show me how you form a fist."

Bemused by the sudden direction of the conversation, Izuku obeyed.

"Huh...not bad for a beginner, you don't make the thumb-under-the-fingers mistake that a lot of people make before being corrected or finding out painfully." she nodded approvingly. "Right, follow me, Izuku-kun."

Kanzashi-sensei led him to the dojo proper, which was empty at that moment. Izuku was curious about it, so he asked.

"Ah, that's because most of our lessons usually take place after school hours on the weekdays." she replied as she hunted about in a cupboard. "Any lessons on the weekend take place in the afternoon or evening depending on the age of the student in question, which leaves us the mornings for paperwork and other things. Now, where did I...? Aha, there you are!"

With a triumphant expression on her face, Kanzashi pulled out a human-shaped doll of some kind. It looked like a special-order pillow filled with straw or something. She also pulled out a stand to hang it from.

"This is one of the things we use to let new students get a good idea of their punching power." she explained as she assembled the stand and set it on the floor. She then hung the doll from it where it 'stood' suspended. While she was doing this Masuo and Inko had entered the room and were observing them.

"OK Izuku-kun. I want you to punch this dummy twice in the target area." Kanzashi directed him, indicating the bullseye painted onto the dummy. "Once with your regular strength and once with your Quirk. That'll give me a good baseline of your physical abilities."

"OK, sensei." Izuku nodded obediently. Drawing one tiny fist back, he threw it in a fairly good punch (for an untrained kid) at the centre of the bullseye, making the dummy rock back slightly, but it was well within expected range for a four and a half year old.

"Not bad." Masuo nodded. "A bit sloppy and uncoordinated, but you've got better control than most first-timers I've seen."

"OK, good first try, Izuku-kun." Kanzashi said approvingly. "Now use your Quirk."

Nodding, the green-haired boy started the rhythmic breathing that activated his Quirk. Izuku was a very smart boy for his age, and he'd figured out an important aspect of his Quirk: if he attacked as he breathed out, the resulting attack with his body and Quirk would be that much stronger.

"Haaaaaa~!" Izuku let out a breath as he slammed a strong punch into the dummy, the golden aura around his fist flaring brightly in response. As soon as the blow landed, the golden energy pulsed powerfully.

**BANG!**

In an instant, the dummy was _ripped_ from its tethers and flew back into the wall, where it exploded into clumps of fabric and straw that scattered themselves all over the dojo floor.

Masuo and Kanzashi blinked in stupefaction at this sight. While ripping the dummy off its tethers wasn't that uncommon for a kid with a modestly powerful strength-boosting Quirk, most kids were at least twice his age before they could accomplish it. For a four-year-old whose Quirk had only been active for a month to be strong enough to cause it to explode like that was something neither had expected.

"Well now." Kanzashi said mildly. "I do believe we have a good idea of how powerful your Quirk can be, Izuku-kun. Was that the best strike you have?"

"H-Hai..." Izuku replied in shock. He was so embarrassed that he'd broken something on his very first day! "S-Sorry about the d-dummy..."

"Eh, don't worry about it kid, those things aren't exactly made to last." Masuo offered with a shrug. "We go through at least one a week in our senior classes, they're made to take a beating and then bust. Part of learning control is learning how to hit 'em without breaking them. Don't worry, we don't charge people for their replacement either, it's part of the fee."

The dojo masters stifled grins at how relieved Izuku looked at that news. He really was a good boy. Then they noticed a worried expression on Inko's face.

"Mrs Midoriya, I can promise you that Izuku-kun is in good hands." Kanzashi said reassuringly to the worried mother. "The **[Hamon]** Quirk is powerful and it will definitely require great control to be used properly, but that is one thing that Tai Chi is quite good at teaching. I can promise you that, given time and training, Izuku will be able to strike a dummy like that with his Quirk on without doing any serious damage."

Inko relaxed at that and bowed slightly. "Thank you. Please teach Izuku well."

Bushi Kanzashi bowed in return. "I will do so."

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Next Chapter: A Rival Appears!**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**


	3. A Rival Appears!

"Kacchan!" - Speech

'_Shitty Deku!_' - Thoughts

**"I AM HERE!"** \- All Might Speech

"_**Detroit Smash!**_" - Special Technique Usage

**Beta'd by BigCC**

**Chapter 3: A Rival Appears!**

_Three Years Later_

_Enryū Dojo, Musutafu City_

Midoriya Izuku, age seven and a half, dodged a punch from his opponent before smoothly repositioning to launch an open palm strike at their solar plexus. As the other boy gasped and reeled from the blow, Izuku moved forward, kicking their feet out from under them before swiftly following downward to place a fist in front of their throat, indicating a solid strike there.

"Cease!" Kanzashi-sensei declared. "Point and match to Midoriya-kun!"

"Dammit..." the boy Izuku had just beaten grumbled as he regained his breath.

"Sorry, but you left yourself overextended after that last punch; you need to be careful about putting too much power behind a strike you're not sure will hit." Izuku offered helpfully as he extended a hand to help his opponent up.

The other boy glowered up at him for a moment before sighing and accepting the aid. He had a basic Emitter-type Quirk that multiplied his strength so long as had one of his fists clenched, **[Boosted Knuckle]**, so he tended to go into fights trying to overwhelm his opponents with pure power rather than using technique or planning, a habit that both Masuo and Kanzashi were trying to break him of.

Kanzashi looked on proudly at Izuku, particularly pleased with his use of minimum force to achieve victory over a more physically powerful opponent. Izuku might not be what most would consider a prodigy, but he was the type of student any _true_ master would give an arm for. Diligent, hard-working, always willing to listen to advice and instruction and equally eager to improve, all while retaining an individual spark that pushed him to push forward on his own as much as he did under her guidance. Besides, just because he wasn't a _prodigy_ didn't mean he wasn't _talented_. He was immensely quick study on nearly everything she tried to teach him, rarely needing to be corrected more than once or twice before he understood the full breadth of a lesson and began to internalize it.

She was an accredited Master of all five of the major ancestral styles of Tai Chi, but so far her training with Izuku had only been focused on the Chen style. He'd already shown a natural inclination for it, and she was certain that he'd prove equally as capable with the Yang and Wu styles as well. The Sun style was a bit more of a toss-up, but she was confident in her student's ability to at least learn _something_ from it.

Sadly, she was fairly certain the Wu Hao wouldn't quite fit with her student's personal style and growth, which was a bit of a shame, but no great loss. Izuku was aspiring to be a hero, not a martial arts master; that meant focusing his training on what would best suit his abilities. If his dreams changed as he grew (something she particularly doubted, there was fire in her student whenever he spoke about being a hero) then they could readjust his training plan accordingly.

Inko had even signed up for basic lessons on purely exercise-based Tai Chi to both help the woman slim down from her comfort eating after the stress the poor woman had gone through since Izuku's fourth birthday, and to give both mother and son something to do to spend more time together.

Kanzashi had grown quite fond of both the Midoriyas, both were honestly good people with warm hearts and kind souls.

"Alright everyone." she called out, clapping her hands to get the class's attention. This was one of the days where her and her husband's class mixed together to gain experience and an understanding of different styles. They occasionally even invited one of the other dojos nearby to participate, though it was much rarer. "That's the last match of the day! Go clean up and get changed for your folks picking you up!"

As the assorted boys and girls scattered off to the separate changing rooms, Kanzashi sighed in slight envy. Her Quirk, **[Body Memory]**, allowed her body to perfectly and instantly memorize any physical motion that she made and keep it recorded for as long as she wished it. That had made learning the various kata, forms, and techniques of Tai Chi a very quick process indeed for her. By the time she had turned eighteen, she was already swiftly rising through the ranks of the martial arts. She'd never considered becoming a hero, she was at her core a baseline human with a superhuman memory. While she could quickly acquire the skill needed, she had always believed she'd lacked the power to match the more dangerous powers out there.

Skill could overcome much, but there was little even the _best_ martial artist could do against someone who could turn into a fifty foot giant at will.

Besides, she looked _ridiculous_ in spandex.

She'd faced her own trials though; her ability to learn the forms with little effort had ended up making her arrogant in her younger years. Luckily her sensei had quickly and utterly beaten _that_ out of her; in spite of her perfect memorization of style and technique, her body had lacked the speed and power needed to use those movements to the fullest extent and she'd been utterly crushed. It had been a particularly _painful_ wake-up call and she'd _sworn_ that it would be a lesson she'd never forget.

It was also one she knew she'd need to pass on to her students as well.

Izuku was one of the first out after getting changed, and Kanzashi had to smile at how cheerful and happy he was now. There were very few signs left of the skittish, bullied boy who'd first set foot into her dojo, replaced with a friendly and confident child that had earned his own sense of self-worth. He'd never be the most outgoing child, and he was still skittish around those with particularly…_volatile_ Quirks. The latter was something they'd have to work on later, but she'd already decided that could wait for a few more years until she was sure the boy had regained his emotional stability.

Pushing too hard, too fast with children was never a good thing. Sometimes you simply had to take it slow and guide them gently toward the end goal.

"Midoriya-kun." she beckoned the boy over. "How's Inko-san doing after the divorce?"

Izuku grimaced slightly. "She's...well, glad it's over, really, sensei."

Kanzashi withheld a wince. The divorce between Inko and her husband had been a rather _turbulent_ one, to say the least. Hisashi had been stalwart in his refusal to even entertain the idea, more out of concern about how the insinuation that he couldn't balance his home and work lives would affect his career than any care for his wife or child. He'd also refused to damage his career by taking a position back in Japan and spending more time with his family, convinced he'd be able to advance his career far more quickly in the American offices. That refusal to bend or sacrifice anything involving his career for his family had been what had eventually made Inko snap and demand the divorce.

It had taken two months of constant arguing between the two before cooler heads had stepped in on both sides (Hisashi's American bosses for him and Bakugō Masaru on Inko's side) and the two had been forced to come to an amicable agreement. In the end, they had split their assets down the middle, and Hisashi had agreed to make child support payments every couple of months. Thankfully, the man hadn't even _tried_ to gain custody over Izuku; either out of a belief that raising a child on his own would take too much time away from his career, or his understanding that his wife would gladly _murder_ him if he tried.

Inko had just been relieved when it was over. Granted, she hadn't been _happy_ in any way that her husband had ended up choosing his career over his wife and son. Indeed, it was something she was a bit bittersweet about. She'd fallen in love with Hisashi partly because of his dedication and focus, particularly when it came to his goals in life, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow when she realized that she and their son would always come secondary to those goals.

"Well, please let her know she's always welcome to stop by for tea if she ever needs someone to talk to, okay?" Kanzashi said with a sigh.

"Hai, sensei." Izuku nodded, a slightly unhappy look on his face. Knowing that his father had chosen his job in America over his mother and him must have been a blow, even if Izuku himself barely had any memories of the man. He'd taken the transfer to America when Izuku was only a year old and had rarely ever come back to visit his home or family.

"So how have the latest batch of tests you've been trying with your Quick coming?" the Tai Chi master asked, knowing just the subject to quickly get her student out of his sour mood

Immediately perking up, the green-haired boy smiled excitedly. "Really great sensei, I can channel **[Hamon]** through pretty much anything! It's a little weird but liquids are _still_ the best conductors that I've found. Oh, I've also been working on sending my energy outward through my feet like you suggested in addition to simply channelling it through my hands and it's working really well!"

"That's very good Izuku." Kanzashi nodded approvingly. "A lot of Emitter Quirks are easier to manipulate through the hands and arms, but very few think to do the same with their legs and feet. I'm sure you'll only improve in time, but eventually I want you to learn to focus your **[Hamon]** through any part of your body you could use to strike with, or even your entire body should it be needed. The important thing is to simply take this one step at a time, master your legs and feet first then move on.

"Yes, sensei." the boy nodded.

Just then, Inko arrived and swept Izuku up into a hug that the boy returned eagerly, making Kanzashi smile softly. The two had the best relationship possible for a parent and child; they were best friends as well as a loving mother and son. Honestly, it made her the smallest bit jealous...maybe she should talk with Masuo later about starting a family of their own...

After the students left, Kanzashi headed back to the office and decided to get an early start on their paperwork. It was an endless battle, partly because there were a number of people out there who wanted people to focus _solely_ on a person's Quirk and thus were trying to get rid of a lot of the pre-Quirk martial arts and have them replaced them with Quirk-focused schools and training centres. Quirkism was sadly _still_ an issue in their society, and while they rarely advanced far in the government, extremists still managed to weasel their way in and make life difficult for dojos like theirs that focused on the art rather than getting the most out of a student's Quirk.

Fortunately, she had learned more than a few tricks over the years to take care of _that_ particular brand of annoying asshole, so it was something she dealt with easily. Just as she finished with it and was thinking about whether she wanted to cook tonight or if they should simply get take-out, the phone on her desk started to ring. Sighing in exasperation, as this happened every time, the woman picked up the phone.

"Hello, Enryū Dojo, Master Bushi Kanzashi speaking." she said professionally. "Yes...ah, you want to enrol your child? About seven years old? That's no problem. Yes...the gi is extra, I'm afraid...you own one already? That's good, so I take it she has some previous training? Oh, it's not a problem. My husband and I just like to evaluate the skills our future students have before we enrol them formally...yes, Saturday's fine. Of course. See you then, ma'am."

Hanging up, Kanzashi smiled. "Well now...I wonder what this new student will bring to the dojo?"

_The Next Day_

_Rairosu Elementary School, Musutafu_

"Jirō-chan, wait up!" Izuku called as he ran after his friend. They had both gone to the same school once they left Kore Ria Kindergarten and they were both now in the second grade, albeit in different classes.

"C'mon, Izuku." the purplette called back, waiting impatiently for him to catch up to her. "We're gonna be listening to my mum and dad's new song today!"

Jirō Kyōtoku was a music composer, while Jirō Mika was a musician with a preference for punk rock. Both had earned enough in their respective fields to a build a small recording studio attached to their home, where all of Mika's songs were tried out before going on to the record company. Their daughter had inherited their talent with music and the two often let her listen to their songs to get a more honest second opinion…mostly because Kyōtoku was a doting husband and couldn't say a bad word about his wife to save his life. Since the two had bonded in kindergarten, Izuku had often been invited to join her in these listening sessions.

"Sorry, I was helping the teacher carry things to the staff office." the greenette replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he caught up.

"_Again?_" Kyōka groaned, pinching her nose in annoyance. "Dude, Kiryūin-sensei is a grown up; she can handle carrying a few files." There were times her bestie's do-gooder attitude really got on her nerves. He was just so…_sweet_. He helped teachers carry things, stopped fights between classmates, offered help on homework, fed stray animals...honestly the guy was a total _cherub_ most of the time.

It really made it hard to believe how tough he was when he went into what she'd dubbed 'badass mode.' She'd only seen Izuku go there a few times since they became friends, but the verdette had several lines he wouldn't let be crossed; push him there and you'd be shocked how fast the fluffy little kitten turned into a fierce tiger cub.

"That's no reason not to be helpful, Jirō-chan." Izuku said reproachfully.

That was another aspect of her friend's nature that irked Kyōka. He was so damned polite! She had given him permission to call her by her given name after they were friends for a year, and he'd never once used it!

'_Probably has something to do with whoever that 'Kacchan' kid was._' the purplette thought, a flash of anger sparking in the back of her mind at the though. It had taken a bit of time, but she'd eventually been able to get the full story around Izuku and his history with his former friend/tormentor both before and after his fourth birthday from him and his mother.

Even now, there were times she _really_ wanted to meet the little prick and give him a nice close look at her jacks before raising the volume up to 11 on his ass.

Kyōka's Quirk was very similar to her mother's, close enough to share the name of **[Earphone Jack]**, but like many cases, her Quirk had grown a bit when it had been passed on to the next generation. Mika could use her jacks as listening devices just like her daughter, but could only channel the sound of her heartbeat through it, causing a small surge of pain. Jirō on the other hand could _amplify_ the sounds of her heartbeat to a level that she could easily crack stone if she wanted, although it hurt her to push herself that far.

Izuku, the little Quirk Geek that he was, had theorized that it was the influence of her father's Quirk that had prompted that mutation. Her dad's Quirk, **[Sound Enhance]**, allowed him to act as a living amplifier, multiplying the strength of any noise he produced or that was produced by something he was touching.

"Fine, whatever." Kyōka muttered, it wasn't worth arguing with her friend over something like that. "Let's just get _going_ already, I want to meet up with mum on the way!"

As luck would have it, Kyōka lived nearby, so Mika met them halfway, just in front of the first set of traffic lights they would have to cross. Jirō Mika was a pretty woman, in a demure way. She had the same purple hair as her daughter, with a large bang of it hanging over the right side of her face and she wore square glasses. Wearing fairly ordinary clothes consisting of a thigh-length black skirt, lilac tights, a white sleeveless shirt and a plain jacket over that, she was pretty but couldn't really be compared to her stage persona.

Something Mika tried to do as much as possible, keeping her stage life as far away from her home life as possible.

"Ah, Kyōka-chan, Izuku-chan, how was school today?" Mika asked, offering the two kids a serene smile. Like her daughter, Mika was a rather stoic individual, keeping her emotions close to the chest unless she was alone or with people she truly trusted. In Kyōka's case, when combined with her father's triangular eyes and slightly more severe features, this made her look irked most of the time.

"Boring." Kyōka replied with a huff.

"I had fun." Izuku said with a smile. "Is your song ready?"

"Yes it is. Kyōtoku is doing some last minute adjustments, but he's just fussing." Mika replied as she grabbed a hand from each of the two and started to lead them back to her home. "I think this song's going to be a good one."

As her daughter and her friend chatted on the way to their home, Mika's smile became a bit warmer. Kyōka had been smiling so much more since she met little Izuku. Despite her attempts to seem annoyed with his 'goodie two shoes' nature, it was obvious to both of Kyōka's parents that she was truly attached to the smaller boy. Her daughter tried too much to imitate her own stoic nature, keeping the teasing she'd undergone at her old kindergarten to herself, but luckily a member of the staff had enough of a conscience to inform her and her husband about it before things went to far, advising them to pull Kyōka out of that kindergarten due to its anti-Mutation leanings.

Despite their Quirks being a hybrid of Mutation and Emitter, Mika was _well_ aware that there were plenty of people who were stupid enough to have a bias against Mutation Quirks just because they tended to make their owners differ greatly from the human norm. She'd been absolutely _furious_ that her precious daughter had been bullied for such a baseless reason, quickly putting her foot down and withdrawing Kyōka in the same day she'd confirmed it. She'd also put in an anonymous tip to the local authorities and school board regarding the leanings of the kindergarten.

She'd been quite pleased to learn that it had been shut down a month afterwards, and the results for her daughter spoke for themselves. She was happy, healthy, and growing up beautifully, and had even found herself a 'bestie' in the form of the quiet, but sweet, Izuku.

Mika smiled as she saw her home in the distance. She wondered what the two kids would think of her new song...

_That Saturday_

_Enryū Dojo_

"Haaaaaaah...!" Izuku breathed out as he launched one of his fists forward, slamming it into Bushi Masuo's waiting palm. The golden aura around his body flared with the exhalation, pulsing brightly into the Karate teacher's arm and forcing the arm, which was nearly as thick as Izuku's torso, back several inches.

"Whoa there." Masuo muttered in approval, shaking his hand out slightly. "That one had some power, little man; it actually _stung_." Coming from Masuo, whose muscles were so dense that they acted as a form of subdermal armour against most forms of blunt force, that was a real compliment, especially for someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet.

There was no doubt that the kid would be a powerhouse one day.

"You've been practising." he added thoughtfully, the kid's timing and control with his Quirk had really been improving lately.

"The _qigong_ and _neigong_ breathing exercises that sensei's been teaching me really helps!" Izuku said as he shook his own hand gingerly. That had felt like punching a frozen side of beef!

"You may want to try a _kiai_ as well." the Karateka offered. "Letting out a yell infused with pure _ki_ or _qi_ might help you further refine your control and release. It might not as well, but it's worth thinking about giving a try at least." the large man grinned before leaning forward conspiratorially. "Beside, all the _cool_ heroes have a battle cry, right?"

"Right!" Izuku nodded happily, his mind instantly going to one battle cry in particular.

"Well, you two will have to wait a bit to test that out." Kanzashi offered from the entryway. Coming into the dojo proper, she grinned at her student and husband. "There's a new student who's going to show up soon, and I was hoping Izuku you could spar with them."

The **[Hamon]** Quirk user perked up slightly. Saturdays were usually when he got personal training from Kanzashi; for his Master to have purposely invited a new student over, that must mean...

"They studied martial arts before coming here?" he guessed.

"Yup. I think you'll get a challenge out of this one." the Tai Chi Master smirked before a knock came from the front door. "Ah, that'll be them now. Two secs."

Kanzashi headed out and was back a bit over a minute later, accompanied by two females that were obviously mother and daughter, both having the same bright orange hair and teal-colored eyes. The older one had tired bags under her eyes and looked every bit the part of a busy, overworked housewife. The younger looked to be the same age as Izuku and was wearing a green t-shirt and cream skirt with a sports bag in one hand, likely holding her own gi. Unlike her mother, who wore her hair straight and cropped at the base of her neck, hers was tied up in a long side-ponytail. Her eyes had immediately started curiously moving over the dojo before locking onto Izuku.

"Dear, Izuku, allow me to introduce you to Kendō Itsuwa and her daughter, Kendō Itsuka." Kanzashi offered with a smile. "Kendō-san, Itsuka-chan, this is my husband, Bushi Masuo. He's the one who specializes in karate, so he'll be acting as Itsuka's primary teacher while she studies here. The little one is my personal disciple and student, Midoriya Izuku."

"Hello, Bushi-sensei, Midoriya-kun." Itsuwa smiled tiredly. "Say hello, Itsuka."

"Hi! Are you strong?" Itsuka asked immediately, her eyes still locked onto Izuku.

"Er...ah..." Izuku floundered. Even with being friends with Jirō for three years, he was still a bit nervous around girls.

"He is." Kanzashi confirmed. "He's a bit shy but still one of the strongest boys in his age group. He hasn't fought any girls aside from me yet though."

"Mum told me it's bad to hit girls." Izuku said with a frown.

"Just running up and hitting them out of nowhere for no reason, sure, but that's true for hitting just about anyone." Masuo agreed with a bark of laughter. "But sparring with them when they are also trying to hit you, or fighting back if they're attacking you for real, is perfectly permissible. It can actually be insulting to refuse to spar with someone based simply on their gender."

"I'm not trying to be mean!" Izuku protested.

"Then you won't mind sparring with Itsuka-chan here, Quirks allowed." Kanzashi said briskly. This was something else she had been meaning to do. Japanese culture looked down on boys hitting girls, regardless of the last two and a half centuries of Quirks influencing things. Izuku had internalized that idea more strongly than most and had found very creative ways to avoid sparring with the female members of the dojo.

She was certain that at least a part of it was due to that former friend of his that Inko had mentioned. The other boy had run around doing whatever he wanted to whoever got in his way after his Quirk appeared and the idiots in charge of him had allowed it. Izuku's negative experiences with that kind of behaviour had likely resulted in him (consciously or not) taking his behaviour in the opposite direction, finding excuses to avoid fighting or hurting others when he could help it. It was a misguided approach that was only going to overstress and harm the child in the future and it was well past time that it was dealt with.

"O-Okay..." Izuku said meekly.

"Good boy. Limber up while Itsuka-chan gets changed." Kanzashi ordered.

_With Itsuka_

Kendō Itsuka followed the strong lady to what she was informed was the girls' changing room with a pensive expression on her face, one that Kanzashi noticed.

"What's up, kid?" she asked.

"Why is hitting girls so bad to that boy?" Itsuka asked as she started to change clothes.

"Ah, there's a bit of a story there." the Tai Chi teacher sighed, thinking for a moment on what to tell without violating her disciple's privacy. "You see, a couple years ago, Izuku had a friend. When that friend awakened his Quirk, it turned out to be pretty strong, and Izuku's friend let that go to his head. The other boy started using his Quirk to do whatever he wanted and turned into a bully."

"Bullies are dumb!" the orangette quickly put in, with all the surety of a young child stating a fact of the world.

"Yes, yes they are." Kanzashi agreed with a small smile. "Anyway Izuku is naturally a very kind boy. He saw how his old friend acted and he's tried to be the exact opposite, doing his best to not hurt people whenever he could. We had a devil of a time getting him to start sparring properly because of that."

"That sound…silly." Itsuka offered, tilting her head slightly as she tightened her belt.

"People tend to be pretty silly at times, and boys get silly ideas stuck in their heads" the elder martial artist stated with a small shrug. "Your mother sent over your records when she filled out the paperwork. Ten spars in a row without a single defeat, very impressive. So, I'd like to ask a favour of you." When Itsuka looked at her curiously, she grinned. "Give my silly little student a _real_ _hard_ fight, push him as far you can. Show him that he has to fight back if he doesn't want to lose. After all, the best way for martial artists like us to talk is with our fists, so tell him loud and proud that you want to fight."

"Got it." Itsuka nodded. She liked helping people, and if beating this guy in a fight would help him, she was more than willing to step up!

Returning to the main dojo showed that the boy (Izuku) was finished with his exercises and was a bit less nervous-looking. Maybe Masuo-sensei had given him a talk of his own?

Moving to the middle of the dojo floor, Itsuka entered into the starting stance her papa had taught her, designed to maximize the strength of their Quirk, **[Big Fist]**. Izuku moved to stand opposite of her, two feet away, and fell into a strange stance that she guessed was some kind of Tai Chi stance. She'd never seen someone fight with Tai Chi before, she'd always thought it was just an exercise routine like Yoga, but since this dojo seemed to specialize in both Karate _and_ Tai Chi, she was probably wrong about that.

"Ready?" Kanzashi stood aside with her husband and Itsuwa and looked between the two kids. Seeing their nods, she raised her arm and then brought it down. "Hajime!"

Immediately, Itsuka leapt forward on the attack. A strong offence was the best form of defence, her papa had said that, and she agreed. The fact that the strategy worked best with her Quirk only helped matters. She started out by launching a quick one-two punch combo that her opponent easily dodged around, swiftly following with a sharp snap kick. This time the green boy couldn't dodge, instead blocking with both forearms and then using the same movement to knock her back and off-balance, quickly following after with a counter-attack, attempting to grab and throw her.

'_He's moving way too slow._' she thought irritably as she easily darted out of the way of the grab. He'd moved so much faster when he was blocking and dodging, so why were his attacks so slow? See locked eyes with her opponent and saw the slight traces of hesitation meandering in those green eyes, causing Itsuka's temper to flare. '_Sensei said that I needed to push you to take me seriously? Fine, then lets see if you're willing to listen when I let my _Quirk_ to do the talking for me._'

Charging in again, Itsuka threw both of her fists forward in a double-punch that Izuku automatically moved to avoid, only for her to activate her Quirk in the last moment. In a sudden surge, her fists grew to the same size as her torso, multiplying her range and power several fold.

Izuku didn't have any time to react as both enlarged fists raced towards him.

"_**Sōtaiken! (Double Jumbo Fist!)**_" she cried as she struck. However, a moment later her eyes popped out slightly as she saw her opponent _hadn't_ been sent flying by her best move. Instead, Izuku had somehow managed to bring his arms up to absorb most of the impact before flipping in mid-air and using the force of her blow to propel him backwards. The boy was still grimacing in pain from the impact to his arms, but it was nowhere _near_ as bad as it could have been.

Unclenching his arms, Izuku looked at her again, and she was pleased to see that the hesitation was gone; instead, there was a spark of challenge in those narrowed eyes that had her blood pumping in excitement. Then he took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly…and suddenly his body erupted into an absolutely _beautiful_ golden glow. Even more interestingly, there were small little bolts of what looked like golden lighting crackling over his fists. Itsuka took the mutters and gasps from the Bushi couple to mean that this was a new development.

Neat.

"_**Haaaaaaaaahhhhhh...!**_" the green-haired boy breathed out slowly, the golden glow around his body intensifying slightly before he surged forward so quickly that Itsuka actually lost sight of him for a moment, only to see that he was right in front of her, one fist drawn back.

"_**Hamon Shissō! (Ripple Dash!)**_" Izuku intoned grimly before his fist flew forwards Itsuka's unguarded left side. She hastily blocked with her elbow, but the blow struck and then Izuku said something else.

"_**Overdrive!**_" he hissed and she felt the golden energy pulse for a moment before being sent flying back as if she'd been shot by a cannon. She quickly reoriented herself and landed feet first, skidding across the polished floor on her bare feet before launching herself back into the fray with an excited shout.

Now _this_ was what Itsuka called _fun_.

As the two kids went at it, Kendō Itsuwa turned to Kanzashi and Masuo with wide eyes. "I've _never_ seen _anyone_ her own age keep up with Itsuka once she starts using her Quirk. Just who and what _is_ that boy?"

"Izuku-kun possesses the **[Hamon]** Quirk. It's an Emitter type that allows him to create and control that golden energy surrounding his body." Masuo replied, noting the skills of the girl fighting his wife's apprentice with an interested mien. "The energy acts as a powerful physical enhancer, augmenting his strength, speed, endurance, reflexes and durability to astonishing levels while he maintains that aura of his. In addition, he can manipulate his energy to further amplify the power or even the damage of his strikes. I have to admit, your daughter's already a very talented fighter; she's the first student in his own age category to land a solid blow on Izuku-kun in the past six months."

"R-Really?" Itsuwa blinked, surprised that there seemed to be someone who could match her martial arts prodigy of a daughter. "Well, the credit goes to my husband; he's the one who taught her our family's style of karate. We've just had to move from Chiba Prefecture due to my job changing and my idiot husband threw his back out moving things. I _told_ him we should just hire movers, but _no_...now we have to hire movers, Itsuka has to learn at an outside dojo until my husband recovers, and we have doctors bills. Haaah...so much for saving money."

"Sounds tough." Kanzashi said lightly as she eyed her apprentice's movements. Ever since Itsuka had landed her first blow, there hadn't been as much as a _hint_ of hesitation or holding back in his movements. Good, a solid challenge was _just_ what the doctor ordered. Izuku worked harder and fought smarter than almost any of the other students his age, and more than a few of those older than he was, so he was already at a level surpassing most of his age group. That was fine, but not being properly challenged could cause his skills and strength to plateau. That wouldn't do if he wanted to become a hero.

Which he did. It was impossible to know Izuku and **not** see the _passion_ he had for his dream.

As the two kids staggered back from one another after another exchange, the Tai Chi Master decided to end it before they could actually hurt each other. "OK, that's enough, both of you."

Izuku and Itsuka looked up at her in surprise. Normally the spar would continue until one person scored a match point.

"This spar was only to determine Itsuka-chan's skill level, as well as break through your inability to fight girls, Izuku." Kanzashi said with a chuckle. "Itsuka-chan, you've done _very_ well. It would be our pleasure to have you attend our dojo."

"Thank you, sensei." the young orangette bowed, a happy expression on her face.

Once both Itsuka and Izuku cleaned themselves up and got changed, the former and her mother had to head off to register for school, while Izuku had to wait for his mother to come and pick him up.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Itsuka called before she left. "Next time we fight, I'm gonna win!"

Startled for a moment, Izuku smiled shyly at her before replying, "Not if I can help it!"

The three adults present suppressed smiles at the slight competitive spirit that the children had. A few minutes after Itsuka left, Inko picked her son up.

"Looks like Izuku has a little rivalry starting up with Itsuka-chan." Kanzashi mused to Masuo once they were alone. "It'll be good for him."

"Mm-hm, good for them both. Nothing better than a rival to help push a talented kid just a bit farther." her husband rumbled as he was distracted by something he'd noticed during the spar. "Dear, do you think that Tai Chi alone is _completely_ suited for Izuku's fighting style? He tends to fight defensively with it fine, but offensively, aside from throws, he tends to be pretty linear."

"Like karate." Kanzashi agreed. "So you think he should work on inventing his own style? A Mixed Martial Art?"

"Something like that." Masuo affirmed. "He rarely makes use of quite a few portions of the Chen style, aside from practising them. I'd guess that a custom style is needed to suit the use of his Quirk anyway."

"Probably. I was hoping not to have to do that, but I guess it was wishful thinking." his wife sighed.

Unseen by the two martial artists, a black and white chequered top hat faded from existence above their heads.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Next Chapter: True Overdrive**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**


	4. True Overdrive

"Kacchan!" - Speech

'_Shitty Deku!_' - Thoughts

**"I AM HERE!"** \- All Might Speech

"_**Detroit Smash!**_" - Special Technique Usage

**Beta'd by BigCC**

**Chapter 4: True Overdrive**

_Half a Year Later_

_Living Room, Midoriya Residence, Musutafu Town_

Jirō Kyōka was smiling as she watched her best friend blowing out the candles on his ninth birthday cake, but couldn't help the not-nice, angry-possessive feelings that were bubbling up inside her stomach as she caught sight of a certain orangette cheering on his other side.

Kendō Itsuka had arrived at Rairosu Elementary about six months ago and she and Izuku had quickly become fast friends; the two had apparently already met and had a 'super intense' sparring match at the Dojo Izuku went to the weekend before.

Kyōka wasn't sure why, but the closer Itsuka got to Izuku, the more unsettling feelings she got toward the redhead. And it was _hard_ to dislike Itsuka. The **[Big Fist]** Quirk user was a bright, friendly girl who was easy to get along with and had a kind of 'Big Sister' attitude to her; she was really good at taking care of people.

She was almost as nice as Izuku in her own way. Less cherubic do-gooder and more protective big-sis, but the two were _definitely_ similar in a lot of ways, a thought that made Kyōka's stomach churn slightly.

Kendo even had her own 'badass mode,' only it came out a lot easier than Izuku's. All you needed to do was get her started on martial arts and she'd go all hardcore battle chick.

_Apparently_ Itsuka practised a heavily modified version of Shōtōkan Karate, one her dad had spent years specializing to work best with their **[Big Fist]** Quirk, or so she said. Kyōka wasn't a martial artist by any stretch of the imagination, so she had no clue what the difference was between any given style of Karate.

Izuku did, though. One of the two styles taught in his Dojo was karate, and he'd been learning to integrate the Tai Chi moves that he'd learned and Karate into a 'Mixed Martial Art', whatever _that_ was.

The fact that Itsuka and Izuku meshed so well together and understood things about each that she didn't was really, _really_ annoying for Kyōka, and she didn't even know _why_ that was. All she knew was that seeing the two having fun together made her stomach churn in a way that was totally different to the times she had an upset stomach.

"Oh wow! Jirō-chan, this is…!" Izuku's excited exclamation drew Kyōka from her brooding. He'd just opened her present to him, a CD album published last year that had 'theme music' for all of the Top 100 Heroes in Japan at the time. This one was special though; not only was it a limited-edition copy, it included a sheet of paper signed by over seventy of the heroes featured on the CD. Her parents' connections in the music industry had managed to get this for Izuku, which was really lucky; only five of those were ever made, three of them to go on a charity raffle at the next Top 10 Hero Billboard Chart.

Yes, she owed her mother some singing lessons, but it was _worth it_ to see the awed and happy expression on her friend's face.

"Like it?" she asked casually, then eeped as she was treated to a hug by Izuku.

"It's soooooo cool!" the green-haired boy said with one of those genuine smiles of joy that made her heart go pitter-patter. "Thanks so much!"

"N-No problem…!" Kyōka stuttered before she pushed him off. "And just call me by my first name! We've known each other for _five years_ already!"

"She has a point, Izuku." Itsuka said, making Kyōka twitch at the _yobisute_ that the orangette was showing, not using any honorifics towards Izuku at all. "Kyōka-san's long since given you permission to use her first name. Isn't it rude to ignore that?"

"I…I guess." Izuku frowned. "I'll try, OK Jirō-chan?"

"So long as you do." the purplette said with a nod. "Now get on with opening your presents!"

After the party was over and her mother came to pick her up, Kyōka was thinking a lot. So much so that her mother noticed.

"What's got you twisted into knots?" Mika asked as they entered their house. "You just had a party with Izuku-chan, and you had a good time from what Inko-san said."

"That girl…Kendō Itsuka…" Kyōka said reluctantly. She _really_ didn't want to tell her mother this, but these weird feelings were going to drive her _crazy_ if she didn't get some answers. Her mother was the most likely person to know something without freaking out like she knew her Dad would. "Whenever I see her and Izuku together and having fun, I...it's like something _hurts_ and _burns_ inside me. What's up with me, mum?"

Mika looked down at her adorably confused daughter and barely resisted the urge to squeal in joy. Fortunately, she had a lot of practice controlling her emotions when she wasn't in her stage persona, so she was able to swallow the reaction down to a small smile.

Aloud, she said, "Isn't it obvious, Kyōka-chan? You're _jealous_."

"Wha-?!" the eight (soon to be nine the next month) year old girl squeaked in shock, her face flushing red.

"You're jealous of Itsuka-chan, because before she showed up, there was no one as close to Izuku-chan as you were." Mika said, reinforcing the point. "Now a rival's appeared and she's pretty, outgoing, caring and is interested in martial arts, and even goes to the same dojo that Izuku attends. The question is, what do _you_ want to do now?"

"What do I…" Kyōka gulped.

"I met your father when I was around your age. We only met in passing on a school trip, but when we met later on during high school, we recognized one another and hit it off and the rest, as they say, is history." the singer/songwriter mused happily, before a small grin appeared on her face. "You want to be a hero, so does Izuku-chan. Training together for that goal doesn't seem like a bad idea. You only know a few basic defence techniques, but I think being able to combine your Quirk with martial arts for when a villain gets up-close and personal might be wise, don't you agree?"

Blinking up at her mother, Kyōka processed what she was saying before a grin crossed her face too. "Sounds like a plan, but…will Dad let me? You had to push him into letting me go to those self-defence classes…"

Mika patted her daughter on the head. "Don't you worry about a thing dear, you just leave _that_ to _me_."

In truth, Kyōtoku was all for their daughter starting to attend classes with Izuku rather than simply relying on basic self-defence lessons; he'd made friends with a few of the heroes while he'd been helping produce the Theme Song collection they'd given to Izuku as a gift, and he'd learned from them that just knowing some basic self-defence techniques wouldn't be worth that much as a Hero. Kyōka simply hadn't shown any interest in that kind of training and they hadn't wanted to pressure her into it.

Still it was fine; she had plenty of time to train hard before applying to U.A. with Izuku.

As a mother, Mika wanted to help her daughter fulfil her dreams, and also protect her as much as possible. Having Kyōka attend Izuku's classes at the Enryū Dojo would help both goals.

'_It's so _cute_ how she can't see how she's got a crush on Izuku-chan._' she thought as she headed to the kitchen to get started on dinner for when her husband got in from work. He was fighting the greedy bloated ego of her record company again and he needed a nice meal to welcome him home.

Life was _good_ for the Jirō family.

_The Next Day_

_Katsuki's Room, Bakugō Family Home_

Life for the now nine-year-old Bakugō Katsuki had, frankly, gone down the _crapper_ over the past three and a half years, at least in his own opinion.

Currently lying on his bed, scowling up at the ceiling, Katsuki was taking a moment to brood over how his life had gone downhill, something that was becoming more common over the years with his normal means of venting curtailed.

Ever since he'd been transferred out of Dantouin Preschool, everything seemed to be _conspiring_ to keep him from his (self-proclaimed) rightful place at the top. His mother was constantly watching him like a hawk and had cracked down severely on his usage of his Quirk outside of practice, which she was _insisting_ on keep an eye on as well. The _slightest_ crackle of an Explosion in a show of temper and he'd lose some privilege for at least a night.

Ever worse, his new schools, first Tarisu Preschool and then Tatoran Elementary School, _refused_ to acknowledge his superiority and _constantly_ shut him down whenever he showed any signs of putting the extras in their place.

All that, plus the _infuriatingly_ frequent visits to that damned shrink that his mother forced him to attend, were constantly putting Katsuki on the edge of a full-scale detonation.

Unfortunately (at least from Katsuki's point of view), those same therapy sessions _were_ producing some results. His ego had been reduced to a somewhat more manageable size and his attempts to assert his superiority were becoming increasingly sparse. As a 'bonus' (at least according to his old hag of a mother) he was no longer so leery of accepting help from others.

Gritting his teeth, Katsuki growled under his fault as his mind turned to the cause of his problems. '_This is all your fucking fault Deku!_' His life had started going downhill when that shitty nerd had **dared** to develop a Quirk and stand against him, upsetting the rightful balance of the world. '_If these fucking _nuisances_ keep me from becoming the Number One Pro-Hero, I _will_ hunt you down and explode you into _mincemeat_!_'

For all of Katsuki's life, there was a simple but firm belief that guided him: heroes were the ones who _won_. To fight and win against whoever was a villain was what a hero was _meant_ to do. Rescuing people…_p__fft_. If you took down the villain quick and hard enough, then no one would _need_ to be rescued, 'cause the threat would be gone. That was why All Might was Number One, an unequalled power that _no_ villain could stand against, one that Katsuki would one day surpass.

It was even part of his name, the _katsu_ of victory!

Yet _everyone_ seemed to be _determined_ to tell him he was _wrong_!

The old hag, his old man, the teachers, that _damned_ therapist, even some of the _extras_ at school who had more balls than brains…! It pissed him off beyond all measure, because whenever they started spewing that kind of goody-goody bullshit about saving and protecting people, all he saw and heard was that damned _Deku_!

'_So you have a goddamned _Quirk_…so what?_' Katsuki scowled at the ceiling, fists clenching but his Quirk remaining contained for now. '_So some dumbass _pencil pushers_ are trying to put restrictions on who can earn a hero license? So what? I'm gonna be the Number One Hero and _nothing_ is gonna stop me. Not the damned know-nothing _bureaucrats_ in the government, not some smart-mouthed _quack_, and not a little pain-in-the ass like _you_, Deku! I'll crush you like a bug when I get to U.A. if you dare to show your face there, just like I always did. Once a Deku, _always_ a Deku._'

His thoughts momentarily calmed by his declaration, the **[Explosion]** Quirk user got up to finish his homework.

_Later_

_Office, Enryū Dojo_

"So." Kanzashi said calmly as she viewed the woman sitting across the desk from her. "You are...I'm sorry, I'm not very good at reading Chinese characters…"

"Ran Xiaoyu." the woman replied softly. She was a young woman, in her mid-twenties or thereabouts, her black hair tied up in a tight bun, held in place with wooden _kanzashi_ hair pins. She had heterochromatic eyes, with one being yellow and one being crimson red. She was an average-sized woman, wearing blue jeans, a t-shirt and a denim jacket.

"Ran-san, then." the Tai Chi Master said with a nod. "Now, you are the third applicant we've had for the teacher position we have open here, and the other two haven't been very impressive, truth be told, so impress me and you likely have a job. Now, what qualifications in martial arts do you have?"

"I am an accredited Master at _Yin_ and _Jiang_-style _Baguazhang_, _Tianjin_-style _Shuai Jiao_ and I was close to attaining my mastery of _Wu Hao_-style _Tai Chi_ before I left China." Ran stated, pressing a manilla folder onto the desk demurely and pushing it forwards.

Picking it up and opening it, Kanzashi had to whistle at the certificates of Mastery it contained. She recognized a few of the names on them as she flipped through each sheet; each was well-known in the Martial Arts community as a strict and demanding taskmaster, and several were well-known for demanding that Quirks not be used or else be as limited as possible during sparring matches and training sessions. Getting a Mastery awarded from just _one_ of them was more than worthy of recognition.

"Well, these are some _impressive_ qualifications." she noted aloud. "Better than _mine_, even. Do you have a martial arts teaching license?"

"Sadly, I do not." the Chinese woman shook her head, her barely-accented Japanese sounding worried. "I...was not expected to pass my arts down to anyone, which is one of the reasons I left my family and country to emigrate here."

"Hmm...well, with _these_ Mastery certificates, that isn't _too_ much of a hurdle…" the Dojo Master offered ambivalently. "And if you want, I can complete your training in Wu Hao Tai Chi; I'm a master in all five of the main Tai Chi styles."

A flicker of surprise crossed Ran's eyes. "That would be…appreciated, thank you."

"Might I ask what your Quirk is?" Kanzashi asked curiously. "Our dojo's central philosophy is mastering the body through training and dedication, that includes encouraging combining the use of Quirks with martial arts in order to better master them as well, so if you have one which is easy to control…"

"My Quirk is called **[Shock Absorption]**. It is classified as a Mutant-type Quirk that allows my body to absorb the vast majority of force behind physical impacts and nullifying them, up until a certain point anyway." the Chinese woman replied.

"Sounds like a useful Quirk to have in a fight." the Tai Chi Master offered, slightly envious. It was certainly one which you could use to go Pro Hero, in her opinion.

"My…_family_…disapproves of passive Quirks." Ran said, her visage becoming slightly uncomfortable. "They are of the opinion that a power that is used outside of someone's control is a power that can be used against the user."

"…I won't say that it's the _stupidest_ philosophy I've ever heard because I've seen quite a few ridiculous ones bantered about in my day, but its still pretty far up there." Kanzashi offered in a deadpan. Compared to what people like the Meta Liberation Army and the dying Quirkless Freedom Alliance, amongst others, believed in, that kind of banal stupidity was fairly vanilla. Annoying and stupid, but not exactly groundbreaking. "OK, so…your family. Are they likely to cause problems for my dojo if I hire you?"

"No." Ran shook her head firmly. "I was disowned after I refused to bow to my parents' wishes and marry someone old enough to be my grandfather 'for the sake of the family', so I doubt they'll bother to remember I exist."

Well, that was _something_, anyway. "And you don't have your family's biases?" Kanzashi checked.

"I admit to having a personal preference to Quirks that require conscious activation, but I have never been one to allow those preferences to colour my judgement." the Chinese woman replied calmly.

"Fair enough." Everyone was allowed their own preferences after all, whether it was a preference in looks, clothing, food, or even Quirks. As long as the other young woman could keep it from biasing her teaching, then Kanzashi couldn't care _less_ about her preferences. "To warn you, there are at least two Quirkless students who attend this dojo, one in the karate class and one in the Tai Chi class." Kanzashi continued cautiously. This was where the last applicants had fallen though; both had been discriminatory against those without Quirks.

One had gone far enough to ask why teaching 'useless throwbacks' was even worth their time. Needless to say the man _wouldn't_ be getting the job.

Luckily Ran simply shrugged her shoulders absently at the question. "I really don't really have an opinion on the Quirkless." she offered evenly. "As long as they prove to be attentive students, I can see no problem teaching any that I am assigned."

Kanzashi let out an internal sigh of relief at that, they could work with that kind of outlook easily enough. She and her husband had planning to add another instructor to the dojo for a while now thanks to the rising popularity of the Enryū Dojo. Most of the other dojos in Musutafu specialized in the latest 'Quirk-based' martial arts that had started to emerge since the start of the so-called 'Age of Heroes.' Most were semi-decent martial arts _in theory_, particularly when they were combined with a specific type of Quirk. Sadly, in practice, the amount of ego stroking, brown-nosing and outright _pandering_ that most of said dojos paid toward students with particularly powerful or 'well-suited' Quirks tended to make the places ineffective schools and little more than cults of personality around a 'star student.'

Thus, most _sensible_ parents started looking elsewhere for places for their children to study.

She and Masuo weren't going to turn down the extra business, but they needed extra hands to ensure proper supervision. While it was traditional for senior students to supervise the lessons of the younger students, it was necessary to have proper instructors, who had qualifications and experience, to truly teach their students.

Adding a couple of new branches of martial arts to those they already offered would simply be an added bonus.

"OK, well, I can arrange for you to get a teaching certificate within the month, providing you study hard enough." Kanzashi said evenly. "Barring you failing the exam, I'll look forward to seeing you show up as a teacher. As for your lessons in Tai Chi, let's discuss a time which is suitable for both of us so I can see exactly how far you have to go before I can certify you as a Master of Wu Hao…"

By the time Ran Xiaoyu left her office, Kanzashi was fairly confident that they would have a new instructor in about a month's time. She returned to the paperwork, when a name caught her eye in one of the notes left for her by Masuo. He'd taken care of the dojo yesterday while she had gone to fetch more training dummies.

"Jirō Kyōka…why does that sound _familiar_…oh, right…that's Izuku-kun's friend…" she mused aloud. "Huh...so her mother's enrolled her in a class to find out which suits her better, karate or Tai Chi…? Well, this'll be interesting for Itsuka-chan."

The young orangette was quite proud of her status as Izuku's rival in martial arts, and the two had quickly become the other's favourite sparring and training partner. The last six months of this had firmly broken Izuku of his disinclination to spar with girls, which was _excellent_ progress in her opinion. It was a sweet and gallant attitude in its own way, but Kanzashi knew very well that there were plenty of female villains out there, and they wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of gallantry.

Returning to the main point, Itsuka was somewhat possessive of her status as Izuku's rival, so having a friend of Izuku's, who was a 'cute, grumpy, tsun-tsun girl', as the **[Big Fist]** Quirk user had called Jirō Kyōka once, come in and start learning martial arts was bound to set off some jealous vibes for the girl, which would confuse her.

Itsuka was a genuinely good person who could get along with almost anyone. She'd even managed to make some of the more snotty brats get knuckled down and working hard. She was a shoo-in for an assistant dojo master...or she would be if she didn't plan on becoming a hero. Still, she was as human as anyone and she was _very_ protective of her time spent training with her 'rival', so there was a possibility of conflict with Kyōka…

"Well, I'll just have to keep an eye on the three of them." Kanzashi sighed. Izuku, being a young boy, was a bit lacking in the finer points of awareness when it came to how females interacted. For all that the boy was quite bright, but he was still just a boy and, like most males, lacked the ability to read the subtleties of female-female interactions. There was a chance something he said could set off a landmine, which would be bad.

Remembering the few times that even her husband stepped on a conversational landmine around her, the Tai Chi master chuckled. "Well, at least things aren't going to get _boring_ around here."

_Same Time_

_Elsewhere_

"So she…works…at the Enryū…Dojo?" a voice wheezed. "There is…no mistake…?"

The doctor in the room shivered at the words. Even so, he replied respectfully. "No mistaking it, Master. She changed her surname from Chen to Ran, but there is no doubt that it is her."

The Dark Emperor of the Japanese Underworld, All for One, breathed in and out as he eyed the numerous pieces of medical equipment surrounding him with distaste. That _accursed_ _fool_ All Might had all but crippled him, managing to do something that many would have considered impossible; overloading and either _damaging_ or _destroying_ most of his longevity and healing Quirks over the course of their battle. The damage had been so bad that he'd been forced to strip away the vast majority of most of them, discarding the broken remains into a number of lab rats, just so that the few working _remnants_ he had left could be safely bundled together and put back to something approaching working order. Even then, they were _barely_ enough to help keep him alive, let alone actually _restore_ him.

His original Quirk, **[All for One]** itself, was more of a Quirk _Manager_ than a Quirk _Thief_. Rather than simply absorbing and redistributing Quirks, he could even break them down into multiple smaller, weaker Quirks or even strip away aspects of a Quirk and combine it with others as he liked (within reason) in order to augment or optimize them before either using the new hybrid himself or gifting it to another. It was truly an awe-inspiring ability, the power to reshape power itself to suit his desires, and one that was truly appropriate for one who sought to rule.

Sadly, no power came without costs or weaknesses, and **[All for One]** was no exception. Quirks he'd taken and 'altered' tended to be a bit…_unstable_. If they were mishandled or overworked it could have rather nasty consequences, both for the Quirk and its host, including the Quirk Factor itself breaking down rather violently. He thought he'd countered this by stockpiling multiple copies of similar Quirks so that, even if one broke down, he'd have backups, and backups for his backups.

Unfortunately, All Might had proven that his precautions hadn't been as _comprehensive_ as he'd hoped.

At the very least, he had scored a strong blow back against the Eighth Bearer of **[One for All]** before he had been forced to scurry away in defeat; dealing a solid wound on All Might's chest, ripping into a lung, but _somehow_ the large muscled man had managed to dodge away before he could drive the blow deeper down into his abdomen. A kind of latent sixth sense from his experience in battle, perhaps? How _annoyingly persistent_ of the man.

"Doctor Tsubasa…wishes to…acquire her…Quirk…for his project." he said eventually. "What…Quirks…do the…dojo masters…possess?"

"Bushi Masuo possesses the **[Bulk Up]** Quirk, while his wife Kanzashi possesses the **[Body Memory]** Quirk." the doctor replied, having anticipated this enquiry. "Useful, but fairly weak Quirks overall, Master."

"Perhaps…but in…skilled enough…hands….even a…needle….can overcome…a sword." All for One wheezed out. Even before his defeat, he had known that raw power was not the only factor in deciding victory. "Both are…skilled…martial artists…and likely…have trained…to use their…Quirks…in tandem…with that…doctor. _Do not_…underestimate…them. Hiring…a martial artist…to deal…with a…martial artist…is the right…plan here. I shall…take care of…the arrangements…once my next…'donation' is…prepared."

"Yes, Master. That should be prepared inside of the next two days." the doctor said evenly. He was very much relieved that his Quirk wasn't of any interest or use to his Master.

"Very…well…doctor." the two-hundred-year-old man croaked. "Now…please…call Doctor Tsubasa in…for me. There is…much to discuss…regarding Project Nomu…"

_A Week Later_

_Enryū Dojo_

Kanzashi adjusted the stance of her newest female student slightly before nodding in approval. It had been just under a week since Kyōka had joined the dojo. The young musician had shown a bit more talent in Tai Chi than in Karate, though it was not for a lack of talent in either; rather it was a simple fact that Tai Chi's more fluid movements suited her build more than Karate's fairly rigid stances.

"Now, try that again." she instructed the purplette, who nodded and slowly moved through the basic kata that she had been learning since she arrived. The girl looked pretty cute in her gi, and the way she absently controlled her Mutation Quirk's jacks in imitation of the movements of her arms was adorable as well. Not to mention the way she blushed when Izuku helped her.

Itsuka, as Kanzashi had half-expected, was more than a little jealous that her rival was spending time helping to train a new girl rather than practising with her, even if she didn't recognize that fact about herself. She and Kyōka were approaching the beginnings of puberty, and girls did develop emotionally faster than boys, so it would be very interesting time for Izuku when his two best friends were more emotionally mature than he was.

"OK, very good, Kyōka-chan." she said as the girl went through the kata nigh-perfectly. "You have the right kind of dedication to make Tai Chi a solid weapon in your arsenal when you become a hero."

Kyōka blushed lightly. "Th-thank you, Bushi-sensei…"

"OK, so, now you've mastered this kata going slow, you have to learn how to use it quicker. It's a lot harder to master the kata when you're moving at a more normal pace, but with time and effort I'm sure you'll pull it off splendidly." Kanzashi informed her, demonstrating the same kata the girl had just used, but accelerated to combat speed. "This kata is one shared by all of the styles of Tai Chi. Once you have this mastered, I'll test you to see which of them you are more suited for. Now try to speed up one step of the kata at a time…"

As she supervised Kyōka, Kanzashi watched Ran Xiaoyu out of the corner of her eye. The woman was a good teacher and generally a fairly nice person as well, but seemed to keep most at arm's length. She kept an emotional distance from her students, which wasn't _entirely_ inappropriate for the most part, but would it kill her to _smile_?

All movement in the dojo stopped cold as the sound of wood breaking, more like being _smashed into kindling_, from the direction of the entrance to the dojo.

"Kids, gather on the other side of the dojo floor, now!" Kanzashi snapped instantly, moving to place herself between her students and whatever was to come through the door. Adrenaline started pumping through her body and she switched from dojo mode to real combat mode, mentally accessing several forms and techniques of her Tai Chi that she usually partitioned from herself to prevent her from using them by accident.

It was a minor, if useful, technique of her Quirk with a bland name: **[Memory Partitioning]**. She could mentally assign certain movements and techniques to 'folders', and restrict or grant access to them for her body as she pleased. It was what a lot of people would think of as a useless technique, as it only restricted and weakened her, but as a teacher, certain forms and techniques were too deadly to show to or use against students, so it was her most often used Quirk technique.

The children trembled as they huddled together on the other side of the dojo floor, Ran Xiaoyu standing in front of them protectively as a series of thuds came from the corridor leading from the front door.

Into the room strode a large man, with long, straggly white-grey hair, bound in a rough ponytail. He had cement-grey skin that seemed to sag slightly off his musculature, yellow eyes with bloodshot veins in them, and his clothes were a filthy and ragged gi, with a worn and ratty black belt securing it at the waist. He was barefoot, his cracked and broken toenails standing out vividly.

"You the dojo master, little girl?" the man asked, his voice hoarse and deep, like rocks grating against rocks.

"It's usually considered polite to introduce yourself before asking the name of another, not least waiting to be invited into somewhere." Kanzashi replied tightly.

"Hah! Impudent stripling. I'm Zanki, no surname worth mentionin'." the man sneered harshly. "M'Quirk's called **[Dead Cell]** and I've been hired to _trash_ this little dojo."

"A dojo destroyer, in _this_ day and age?" the only present Master of the Enryū Dojo scoffed in return. "Well, you'll see that I'm no pushover."

"Hah! Chance'd be a fine thing, kid." Zanki scoffed as he flexed his large hands menacingly. "My Quirk was fuckin' useless while I was alive, 'cause I could only control dust, and even then not all of it. Was a right big surprise when I woke back up after I died, my Quirk keeping my body together and moving even when all life should have bled out of it. _That's_ the power I've got at my hands, chitling, I'll live _forever_ by the power of my Quirk and with the skills I spent my livin' years acquirin', I'm unmatched in a fight. I've been undead and kickin' for over a hundred and ten years now, and been fightin' through most of it. I don't get tired, I don't lose focus, my strength is greater than yours and will never flag, and I've got at least a century's worth of experience on yeh. What do _you_ have to hope to match _me_?"

"A smaller ego." Kanzashi replied dryly, absently wondering why villains _always_ loved to monologue. "And watch your language, there are children within hearing distance."

"Gotta smart mouth on ya." Zanki growled, cracking his knuckles. "Lessee how well ya talk with it after I punch yer _teeth_ out."

With an unimpressed mien to her, Kanzashi flowed into a defensive Tai Chi stance, ready for her opponent. "Master of the Five Major Styles of Tai Chi, and Joint-Master of the Enryū Dojo, Bushi Kanzashi." she stated.

"Practitioner and Master of Shōtōkan Karate, Shitsuyōna no Zanki (Zanki the Relentless)!" the undead Quirk User responded with a snarl. "Now I _attack_!"

Izuku, who was crouched next to Kyōka and Itsuka, watched in awe as Kanzashi smoothly blocked and redirected several punches from the man.

"What's she doing?" Kyōka asked with wide eyes. "She's just rotating her arms and it's blocking his punches!"

"It's a mid-level technique called _**Kakei**_." Izuku whispered back. "Kanzashi-sensei's been teaching it to me, but I still haven't managed to get to work yet. She's spinning her arms to negate or dissipate the force of his blows!"

"Tai Chi...what an inadequate art to use." Zanki scoffed as his arms began to blur as he focused more and more strength into each blow. "A fool's practice, little more than a bit of fancy exercise packaged to look like a true fightin' art. Having such a thing taught at a Dojo, it'll be a right _pleasure_ to break this sign over my knee."

"Your knowledge is apparently as lacking as your sense of hygiene, oh undead one." Kanzashi replied coolly, her arms flowing through the motions of her _**Kakei**_; diverting and redirecting the majority of force behind her opponent's blows away from her. The man in front of her was strong, but compared to her husband, who she sparred with regularly, his strength was inconsequential. "Tai Chi is an art that focuses on the balance of Yin and Yang within oneself. Keeping one's _body_ healthy with the exercise forms, nourishing one's _mind_ with its teachings and protecting one's body with its combat forms. It is an art for living, growing and flourishing oneself."

"Fah!" the man snorted, stomping forwards with his left foot and sent a fist towards her face, whilst the other flew toward his stomach hidden in the shadow of the first. It was a move forbidden in tournaments, the _**Yamazuki**_.

Much to his mild surprise, the woman dodged both blows, and then unleashed a quick barrage of punches that he didn't bother blocking or dodging.

Zanki merely sneered as he pushed through the blows and launched a return-strike of his own, forcing the Tai Chi practitioner back onto the defensive.

"Fool woman, I already _told_ you my body's dead as old wood." the undead martial artist spat out as he pursed her. "I don't feel _pain_ and it'll take more than your little love taps to do me _any_ damage. You're goin' to have to do far better to stop me."

'_He's not afraid of injury because his Quirk doesn't let him feel pain and prevents most forms of attack from doing lasting damage._' Izuku realized quietly as he mentally studied and analysed the man's words and Quirk.

"Well then, allow me to do so." Kanzashi growled, growing a bit irritated with the man's disrespect and more concerned with the threat he represented to herself and her students. She tensed before moving, her speed at the very limit of the human peak, to the point that she temporarily moved faster than Zanki's eyes could see. The next moment, she was behind him, fist drawn back.

"_**Raisei! (Thunder Sound!)**_" she hissed before she exhaled using a special breathing technique. Much to the shock of all of those watching, her fist seemed to start vibrating visibly before it slammed into Zanki's back, driving the much larger man to his knees.

"Ooff…! Well..._that_ might have smarted were I alive." the undead Quirk user spat out as he stood up once again.

"You're certainly sturdy, I'll give you that…" Kanzashi said with a frown. "My arm was striking with the force of a bullet there. At the very least your spine should have been cracked by the impact alone, let alone the damage to your muscular tissue."

"I've already _told_ you, my Quirk is the ability to control dead cells, and since I'm little more than a walking corpse, that means my _entire body's_ under my control." Zanki smirked wickedly as he turned to face her. "More than that, I can absorb them into me from the dust in the air, store them within my own dead flesh and then use them to help rebuild and repair any damage you manage to do. To put it simply, I'm _invincible_ you fool girl. You lost this fight the moment I decided to challenge yeh."

"There is no superiority before or during a fight." the Tai Chi master said diffidently. "Only afterwards are you permitted to make one-sided declarations such as that."

"Tch, spoutin' that kind of twaddle even now…!" the man growled. "Yer lookin' ta die, bitch!"

"There are children here, keep your language polite." Kanzashi warned him again before she used the special breathing method again, her entire body vibrating like her fist had before.

"Huh...so you've mastered that trick of yours to the point you can use it over your entire body? I'll admit, that's an impressive feat for a stripling not even in her thirties yet." Zanki admitted, though his sneer never left his face as he fell into a new stance of his own. "But I've been fightin' for over a _hundred years_ now girlie, I've seen, fought, and beaten more martial arts than you have ever even _heard_ of. Do yeh think I've never faced the likes of that before? That I don't know how to _beat_ it!? _**Tetsuki Rendan! (Iron Demon Barrage!)**_"

His arms blurred, moving so fast that it was hard for the kids to see them. Kanzashi narrowed her eyes and used the _**Kakei**_ to try and block the attacks, but the force of the blows was far greater than before and blasted right through the defensive technique and into several places on Kanzashi's body.

"Gah…!" the woman gasped as she was thrown back by the force of the attack, slamming into the wall and lying against it, stunned.

"There's the trick to it. Like I said, every dead cell in my body is mine to command; that means I can condense them to the point that my limbs are as hard and dense as iron." Zanki boasted arrogantly. "A brattling practising a soft art with a weak Quirk like yours should have _never_ tried to step in my path."

"_**Ní Shè Shuǐ Bù! (Mud Wading Steps!)**_" another voice shouted, and abruptly, Zanki found himself surrounded by blurred images of Ran Xiaoyu, trapping him within a circle

"Huh...so you're the foreign strumpet with the **[Shock Absorption]** Quirk, eh?" the dojo destroyer mused darkly. "And this is the famous 'Mud Wading Steps' of Baguazhang, a technique that traps the opponent in a circle and hemming them in by the close proximity…not a bad technique…but nowhere _near_ enough! _**Testuzan Mawashi Geri! (Iron Cutting Roundhouse Kick!)**_"

With a roar, he unleashed a fast roundhouse kick that slammed into Ran and sent her flying with a spray of blood from one shoulder.

"How?! **[Shock Absorption]** should have let her ignore that kick?!" Itsuka squeaked.

"Heh, like I said brat, all my dead cells are under my control, shaping those in the front of my leg into something sharp enough to cut instead of simply smash is a simple thing with enough practice." Zanki stated, having overheard her. "**[Shock Absorption]** may make blunt force attacks moot, and even make most bladed attack next to worthless, but my kick there was just fast, not strong. All of the damage came from _her_ running into my leg, not the other way around, so **[Shock Absorption]** didn't activate until the blade was already in her flesh."

'_I underestimated him._' Izuku gulped in fear, looking toward where both of his teachers were struggling to stand. '_He _acts_ like nothing more than an arrogant muscle-head at first, but its obvious now that all of the things he's said about his knowledge and fighting experience weren't just empty boasts. He knows a lot about how both Quirks and martial arts work and has developed technique to use his own Qui__r__k and fighting style in concert for the maximum effect…_'

"Now that the mother hens are down, I can deal with the chicks...a few broken bones will heal in a few months time…" the dojo destroyer sneered as he walked towards the children. "And this dojo will never recover from the scandal…"

"Sc-scum! Leave those children alone!" Kanzashi shouted as she stood up. She had at least one broken bone from being hit multiple times by iron-hard fists, but she was _damned_ if she was going to let her students suffer from harm!

Izuku's heart sped up as he saw Zanki's eyes lock onto Kyōka. He firmly pushed himself in front of her and Itsuka, making the undead martial artist chuckle darkly.

"Tryin' ta protect your little girlfriends, kiddo? Well you've got some iron in yeh, I'll credit you that." the undead sneered down at him, a dark grin spreading on his lips. "A'right, to respect your intentions, you're first."

Exhaling, Izuku started the special breathing technique he'd been using for the last few years, making the glow of his **[Hamon]** energy spring up around his body.

'_I have to fight! I have to protect my friends!_' he thought nervously as Zanki mockingly took such a loose and open stance that it practically **begged** Izuku to attack…a trap, in other words. '_But I can't beat him! What should I do?!_'

_"Young man…"_ a voice said in his mind. His vision went grey. The figure of a man wearing a white suit, with a white and black checker-printed top hat, facing away from him, appeared to his eyes. _"To face a monster such as this, in spite of your fear, is nothing short of true courage. Do not allow fear to cripple your courage or hamper your breathing; overcome it, master it, and make it your own. We shall speak more later, but for now...take this technique that my greatest student created...and _strike down_ this abomination!"_

Suddenly, knowledge flowed into him and his vision cleared up, just as Zanki lunged into an attack, a fist that was slow compared to the ones he'd used against Kanzashi and Ran, but still faster than an ordinary child could _normally_ respond to.

Izuku leapt over the blow and clenched his right hand as words erupted from his mouth unbidden.

"_**My heart is burning with the heat of a raging fire! Feel the pounding beat of my pulse!**_" he roared, the glow of his aura redoubling as he increased the amount of Hamon Energy that he wore, making the infrequent sparks of lightning appear again. "_**Nikkō-**__**Ki**__**iro Hamon Shissō! (Sunlight-Yellow Overdrive!)**_"

With a shout, Izuku punched at Zanki, the glow of his **[Hamon]** blinding by this point. Of course, Zanki managed to interpose a hand to catch the blow...but then something _amazing_ happened.

The energy of Izuku's **[Hamon] **Quirk shot _through_ the entire arm that Izuku's fist was connected to, which then sparkled with golden-yellow lightning before falling from the rest of Zanki's body, the flesh sloughing off the bones.

"Aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!" the undead martial artist screamed, feeling something akin to pain after over a century without. "My arm! MY ARM!"

He staggered back, his remaining hand clutching at his dissolving arm in shock, the loose bones and liquefying flesh dribbling down onto the dojo's floor, smelling absolutely _disgusting_. Izuku almost gagged at the smell, but he managed to hold his gorge down, winding up another attack on the zombie-like man.

"St-Stay away! Fucking brat!" Zanki screamed, attempting to kick the boy away. Unfortunately for him, the haze of the first true pain he'd felt in over a century, mixed with the raw terror he was feeling that someone, a prepubescent _kid_ no less, had managed destroy one of his arms, left the movement blatant and sloppy to the point that even a child like _Izuku_ could read it and react appropriately.

Ducking under the kick, Izuku ground his teeth together as the golden energy of his Quirk crackled around his fists. This man had hurt his sensei and had threatened his best friends...he was going down _hard_!

"_**Hamon Sōtenken! (Ripple Twin Heavenly Fists!)**_" he shouted, leaping up, his body moving in echo of someone else's motions, one that Itsuka recognised, judging by how her eyes widened.

"That's my…!"

In a perfect imitation of Itsuka's _**Sōtaiken**_ technique, minus the enlargement both of his fists, Izuku slammed both of his fists into the upper body of Zanki the Relentless, the golden light and crackling golden lightning crackling over every remaining part of his body and head.

"N-No…how could…I _lose_…to a brat…to someone not even a _decade_…old…!" Zanki choked out, his entire body starting to melt and break apart as the golden lightning danced across it. He tried to reassert control with his Quirk, but the flesh refused to respond to **[Dead Cell]**, as if, for a brief moment, the flesh had been brought back to life even as it destroyed itself.

Realizing that his 'immortality' might well and truly be at an end, Zanki's fear boiled over into rage. "Th-this brat…if nothing else…I'm gonna take this…brat down…_with me_…!"

Even as he reached for Izuku with his slowly dissolving arm, however, two people reacted quickly.

"_**Raisei!**_"

"_**Sōtenshu! (Double Palm!)**_"

In a twin cry of anger, both of the teachers, who had been left gaping at both the ferocity of Izuku's attack and the effect his Quirk was having on the undead, leapt into action and slammed their attacks into Zanki with enough force that Izuku was sent flying back, only to be caught by Itsuka and Kyōka. The previous resilience shown by the hired dojo destroyer was nowhere to be seen as his torso was _pulped_ by the combination of the two techniques.

With a pathetic gurgle, Zanki the Relentless died as his body, kept intact through the power of his Quirk up until this point, collapsed under its own weight as it liquefied. The bones thumped onto the floor, leaving disgusting pile of sludge and bone across the dojo's floor.

"Heh…I...did it…" Izuku said with a blink of surprise before his eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious, much to the worry of Kyōka and Itsuka.

"Ran…call the police…" Kanzashi huffed as she shook her hand to get the Essence of Zanki off it. "…and the on-call doctor. I want Izuku-kun looked over ASAP."

"Yes, Sifu." Ran nodded, moving off while holding the bleeding wound on her arm. She still had much to learn, so it seemed.

Stepping around the puddle of Zanki's remains, Kanzashi checked over Izuku before smiling at the two fretting girls hovering nearby. "He's OK, girls. He just pushed his Quirk too hard and fainted in exhaustion. He should wake up once he's recovered."

Nodding at the two relieved girls, Kanzashi turned and looked at what remained of one of the most powerful martial artists that she had ever fought. Taken down by a _nine-year-old boy_.

"Something tells me that this is only the beginning." she muttered before getting herself ready to answer the questions of the police.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Next Chapter: Ghost of a Mentor**

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**


End file.
